98 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDERThere is always a big smile and genuine
interest here in where you’ve been and
where you’re headed.
We all se le in for a great night of cold
beer, good food, red wine, bench-racing lies,
and a rum nightcap ...
Next morning there are thick heads and
puff y eyes all round as we shuffl e into the
pub for a bang-up big biker brekky cooked
by a smiling Desley on her birthday!
Before heading off , some of us top up
with fuel across the road from Mick, who’s
also an adventure rider and takes a keen
interest in our rigs.
Just east of the town, you turn south
down Long Gully Rd which drops off
the edge of the plateau into rainforest
and a narrow, winding tar road into the
valley below. At the bo om there are deep
concrete dips for the creeks to cross and
where the boys li their front wheels in
hungover exhilaration.
This is where Long Gully Rd ends and
Rocky River Rd begins. It’s a favourite with
campers and we’ve pitched our tents here
before, but don’t stay where there are signs
prohibiting camping. Most of the farmers
are congenial and don’t mind the many
bikes that come through, but some can be
cantankerous. It’s also advisable to stay
on the road and be wary of turning blind
corners too fast lest you end up wearing a
new leather racing suit!However, as the road follows the
meandering Rocky River, there are a
couple of places where you can cut across
a paddock to avoid a road loop. Just
behave yourself and watch out for ca le.
Rocky River is just that. It reminds me
of the Snowy River with its large granite
boulders and crackling stream of cold and
fresh water. The road runs along its length,
darting away into the hills then back again,
always on a slippery surface of crushed
decomposed granite with few changes.
A couple of violent storms have passed
through in the preceding weeks and in
places the road is heavily corrugated and
ru ed as the runoff fl ows across and along
its length. They aren’t deep ruts because of
the hard granite base, but lateral ruts can
grab your front tyre and give you a fright
while the cross ruts ra le your fi llings out
... or in this case, ra le off the chain guard
from a DL650. It’s one of several stops
we make for repairs and photos. At least
there are no punctures because there are
few sharp rocks on this road.
This is one of those roads that tempts
you to u-turn at the end and do it all again.
The valley scene is stunning, the road is
tight, winding and challenging, and there
are plenty of places you will want to stop,
rest and enjoy the shade and the peace
of lowly mooing ca le against a babbling
background of running water.THE RIGHT STUFF
Suzuki has extended the touring
potential of its big V-Strom adventurer
with several accessories packages.
Not only has the versatile all-road bike
been updated this year with traction
control and styling that has turned it
from an ugly duckling into the swan
of the adventure pack, but it’s been
supplemented with a wide range of
accessories.
They include handguards, grip
warmers, spotlights, luggage, higher/
lower seats, centre stand, protection
bars, windscreen options and more.
You can pick and choose and buy
them separately, or you can choose
from one of four accessories packs
that are cheaper than buying all the
items individually.
It starts with a touring pack for
$699 that includes a tank protector,
handguards, lower cowling, accessory
bar and decals. The adventure pack
($1799) adds panniers and the
voyager pack ($2599) adds a centre
stand, large touring screen and dry
roll bag. Top of the line is the grand
touring pack ($3399) which also
throws in a hard top box and LED
indicators.
If you add this to the basic bike,
which costs $15,490 (+ORC), you get
a pretty handy bike for touring the
whole of Australia, without having
to spend anywhere near the money
asked for some of the other exotic big
adventure tourers on the market.It's no mystery where Rocky
River gets its name from►ARR112_094-100_Sydney Off Road.indd 98ARR112_094-100_Sydney Off Road.indd 98 2/3/2015 9:52:04 AM2/3/2015 9:52:04 AM