Julie and I rode to Border Village early August on the Honda and it was a great ride, doing Barunga Gap, staying at the Iron Knob pub, chatting with fellow m/c owners (but then caravan travellers) at Kimba, checking out Great Aus. Bight pullovers and viewing platforms to see heaps of whales, catching up with Glen and his mate at Border Village, staying at Fowlers Bay (more on that later), Elliston and their delicious KG whiting, the Birdsview highway to Lock, the brilliant road from Cleve to Mangalo and then onto Kimba, the Arid Lands Botanic Park at Pt Augusta, Horrocks Pass to Wilmington and then Germain Gorge and onto home. Great weather all the way, just missing very ordinary weather by about 12 hours.
This long intro is setting the scene for my decision to purchase a motorcycle that is more comfortable on dirt than the ST - and that wouldn't be hard - even the most ardent lover of ST1300's would have to agree, dirt is not their forte.
The road into Fowler's Bay is 10km bitumen and 13km very well maintained dirt. Going over the ST that night at Fowler's Bay indicated both fork seals had started weeping (bugger). The bike was skittish on the road and it was taken at very responsible speeds. Anyway, we got there, we got home and now I have some work to do and it's not the ST's fault, it wasn't built to be a chook chaser.
Enter the 2018 V-Strom 1000. I would have selected the 650 excepting Julie's keenness to go exploring across this wide brown land now that we are both retired and my weight loss goals are yet to be achieved.
What have I learnt so far?
* Full fairing bikes like the ST are so much warmer on the legs on these cooler days;
* The only plus for going back to chain drive is you have something to do on a cold wet winter's day;
* The improved power/weight ratio is noticeable and a bit of fun in the tight twistys of the Adelaide Hills
* Honda doesn't make the most uncomfortable motorcycle seat known to man;
* The Honda MCL peg extensions, if swapped left to right and vice versa, work very well on the V-Strom;
* The V-Strom gets better and better each time I take it out (that's a given with any new bike I suppose).
The Honda will stay - I took it for a spin yesterday and was stunned by the smooth power, comfort and rideability - I'm just amazed how much I have taken for granted just how good the Honda ST1300 is as a long distance touring machine.
