Australian Motorcycle News - June 21, 2018

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Your say

and still have, a similar

issue with grey imports.

But well done to Kawasaki’s

preferred broker for getting

you the coverage you

required. Chris

Up the track

and back

I have just had a similar

experience to Steve’s ride

on the Birdsville Track

(Access, Vol 67 No 24).

On a tour from Western

Victoria to Central

Australia on my Ninja

1000, I was told by many

adventure bike riders that

I couldn’t ride a roadbike

from Coober Pedy to

William Creek and down

the Oodnadatta Track, due

to terrible corrugations,

wheel ruts, potholes, rocks,

loose sand and bulldust.

But my mind was made

up after being patronised

by a condescending Africa

Twin rider at Uluru.

It was a cakewalk. After

leaving the tar, it was

more than 100km before

I changed out of top gear.

Riding conservatively, I

dropped to 65km/h on

occasions, but for much of

the 400-odd kilometres,

sitting on 90-100 was a

comfortable and safe speed

to maintain.

So to that Africa Twin

rider: Sorry, mate, but if

you think you need an

adventure bike to ride that

road in its current condition

then you just can’t ride!

M i c h a e l B u l l

Ozenkadnook, Vic

All this talk about the

Birdsville Track has had

my Google Maps working

overtime, Michael. It’s

incredible that I still hear

names of Aussie towns I

have never heard before,

and Ozenkadnook is the

latest. It’s just such a shame

the Ozenkadnook Tiger was

a hoax. Now (I hope) I have

everyone reaching for their

search engines. Chris

All good...

until it isn’t

Just read Steve’s letter

about the Birdsville Track

(Access, Vol 67 No 24).

Some mates of mine did it

about 10 years ago with no

sat-phone and no EPIRB.

One of the boys came

down in a bulldust-covered

rut. Lucky for him, a station

worker was on the road,

and his ute had a UHF

radio they used to call the

Flying Doctor. He ended up

spending a lot of time in an

Adelaide Hospital.

I’ve worked in the

backcountry a fair bit and

my motto has always been,

‘Prepare for the worst,

enjoy the best’.

Rod Williams

Via email

G’day Rod, two of our

regular AMCN contributors

have had it all turn to shit in

the Outback, and if it wasn’t

for the fact that they were

carrying safety equipment

that allowed them to call

for help the outcome might

have been a lot worse.

Some of the letters we

have received are from

very experienced riders

who know the local area

really well. The common

theme is, it’s a harsh

environment that can’t be

underestimated. Chris

Flea found!

Your recent story about

the new Royal Enfield

Pegasus (AMCN Vol 67

No 24) reminded me of

another news story you ran

a while ago reporting the

theft of an original Royal

Enfield Flying Flea from a

photoshoot. Was that piece

of history ever recovered?

Helen Goldsmith

Kew, Vic

G’day Helen, yes! Good

news about the Flying Flea

that went AWOL, it was

recovered by the police

and is now back in the

hands of Royal Enfield.

Unfortunately, the same

can’t be said for the van and

other expensive kit that

was nicked at the same

time. Chris

“Riding my roadbike down

the Oodnadatta Track

was a cakewalk!”

22 amcn.com.au