OzSTOC
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: STutter on December 13, 2012, 12:18:51 PM
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Hi all,
I've been interested in doing a lap of Australia for a while now on various bikes, and the old ST might just be the beastie to do it on.
Time, which is always against us, means I'd need to do it in a maximum of 5 weeks/35 days, around 450kms a day (this includes a heap of rest days visiting friends and relatives in many obvious stops.
I'd be interested to hear if anyone has done it on here. I recently followed "Squib and Friends" on facebook as a new Ural owner took his bike around Australia with wife in tow.
Whaddya reckon?
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The ST would do it in a weekend STutter. :thumb Have to be the most near perfect bike I've ever owned to do such a trip. Things like long range fuel, smooth, quiet, comfortable, easy maintance, powerful enough to tow a trailer if you need to and no chain to oil. :thumbsup Start planning now!
:bl11
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Starting mine with the AGM next year but I have the luxury of doing it in Stages. Also will be doing it on my GL1500.
Stage 1 Perth to Victor Harbor
Stage 2 Victor Harbor to Sydney
Stage 2 Sydney to ???
Plan to keep as close to the coast as possible without back tracking and no dirt roads. This will add a lot of kms to the trip.
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I've been told that the best way around is to head north first (on the east coast) as its shorter....
You have the inside lane....
:rofl
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An old mate of mine.......he's a wealth of info.
Everything and more you need to know about doing The Lap.
http://www.max.grenkowitz.net/?topic=840 (http://www.max.grenkowitz.net/?topic=840)
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Ros and I are doing it in April next year (on the ST) but will be taking 12 weeks with lots of stopovers and side trips.(one of the advantages of being retired :)) We will be doing a practice run to Victor Harbour in March then heading off from Sydney (clockwise) on 15 April 12. Google says our planned route is 15140Kms at 181 driving hours. I am setting up this blog to keep our family up to date on our travels http://www.bushellsbikebashes.com/ (http://www.bushellsbikebashes.com/).We could cross paths. I will keep an eye on your post.
Cheers
Dick B
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Yep, I've done it on the ST, and it's a great bike for the journey.
In 2009 I went from Adelaide, Melbourne, Snowy Mountains, NSW and QLD coasts to Cairns, back to Tonwnsville, Tennant Creek, Darwin and back down the middle to Adelaide. You can read my blog on the trip at http://halfwayroundwithpete.blogspot.com.au/ (http://halfwayroundwithpete.blogspot.com.au/)
In March this year I went the other way. Adelaide, Perth, Broome, Darwin, Alice Springs and back to Adelaide. No blog this time, but here's a link to my trip report. http://ozstoc.com/index.php?topic=1345.0 (http://ozstoc.com/index.php?topic=1345.0) We did this trip in 30 days for a total cost of about $2,500 including fuel, accomodation, food and extras. After setting up camp in the caravan park, we'd ride to the supermarket and stock up on our food etc. We camped in caravan parks, used the BBQs in camp kitchen to cook meals, and generally avoided buying lunch by cutting sandwiches and eating fruit and canned tuna, and took a compact JetBoil cooker to boil a billy for tea and coffee. Cost of food worked out to be about $10 per head per day (four people on four bikes), which included three meals, nibbles and a cask of wine. Cost of fuel outside of the major cities was about $2.00 per litre, and I used 600 litres of fuel for the 12,500km journey. The longest haul between fuel stops was 300km up in the north west of WA, which was easily achieved with the ST, but the Harleys needed to carry extra.
My experience shows that the trip can be done on a budget. On such long trips, always wear ear plugs. A mesh jacket with a waterproof liner for the wet bits was perfect for the trip, and grip heaters were essential for the cold mornings out in the middle, where it got down to 2 degrees. I hope this helps.
I'd do it again without hesitation. :thumbs
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Thats excellent news StinkyPete. Looks like it might just become a reality :D