Aaaarrrggghhhh...what a day! Not a cloud in the sky. Perfect.

From the bottom of my heart, enjoy yourselves, ya lucky bastards!

30c and 50% humidity. We call that mostly fine. Those blue skies are looking good for a ride. I'll twist the throttle a bit extra in honour of all of you who can't ride today.

Well, this is one of the highlight of this forum. The crazy Canuck meeting the Ozzies.
I wish that I could be there too. Maybe one day....
How a simple forum can change your life! Meeting new friends, getting cyber mechanical help..... I hope that all of you will have memorable time and will share your experience with us.

Good on you ... Hey! (I am covering both countries with this comment).

Cheers

Bert

Hi all, I'm just in and the bike's still ticking in the garage while the others are rolling North up the M1 Motorway into the teeth of The Gold Coast's peak drive time traffic to drop off the hire K1200RS and then head home in the gathering darkness.


Charlie99, K-Freak & Club C. I think I heard one of them talking about whether they should hold hands just as the photo was taken!

It was a great day of Yatala pie eating, yakking, and riding some fine fine roads while the sun shone and the skies stayed blue. We rode out behind Hinze Dam on some winding two-lane roads through the Numinbah Valley to the Natural Bridge on the Qld/NSW border then over the range and down some more of the fine twisty bits through Murwillumbah and then fast over the Burringbar Range. There was something for everyone.


The important stuff!

Poor Club C couldn't understand much when the three of us Aussies (K-Freak, Charlie99 & TWB) started up a convo but he got the jist. He even shouted us a pot at the Mooball pub!


After a break at the Chillingham Store, where you can get (almost) anything you want.

It was a very good day spent riding great bikes on excellent roads with three top blokes! Next time a few more of you locals and not-so locals are welcome to ride along. Cheers!

Work sucks!

I'm glad that all had a great day!

some more pics of the meet with our crazy canuk ....(not so crazy after all )

late but the meeting point was found ...heads getting together hatching a plan ........


surveying the countryside ready for the next section


after the moball pub visit ...hmm its getting late ...cant make byron ....but there is a plan ...head back up to cabaritta headland for the glory shot ....(in this pic ....twb...club_c and kfreak ) .


its a long way to come for internet connection meetups ...but i think clubc looks pleased i hope he and his family enjoy the rest of their holiday .......i just hope that it was all that he had planned .....i guess you have to slow down and enjoy the ride

i have to say i couldnt have met a nicer bunch of blokes

our mate kfreak is probaly still travelling ...back up the big hills home

cheers guys ....we will have to do this again soon

The 'Du-rag' was a gift from someone back home and old Clubbie just had to have the obligatory photo of himself wearing it. We thought what better background than the headlands at Cabarita as the sun sank low! (No, he's not a secret Harley rider).

Nice guys and thanks for the great pics and update! Enjoy the fantastic riding!!

OG

It's really interesting to see your faces. We usually only see your bikes.
It looks like a perfect meeting and ride.
As I am organizing the mini New Brunswick BMW rally in August, I hope that some of the eastern US members will be able to join us.
Thanks to all for the great pictures of this first INTERNATIONAL meeting of some forum's members. I am sure that other people will find riding buddies on this forum.

to all of you.

CF

Just before dark fell and we were riding homeward late yesterday arvo my headlight stopped working (high beam warning illuminated but no headlight function, only the parking lamp). Just hours before, the starter button which had been repaired many times, had popped itself up and was about to come off. The starter function worked a charm still though. I was convinced (I should say I allowed myself to be convinced) that this was the problem and that they were related.

I got up this morning and proceeded to take off the right hand switch assembly to swap it with a secondhand spare one I'd bought a year ago from Motorworks. What a job that is! The 9 pin plastic connector will just barely make it through the gap in the frame near the steering head. I recommend patience and patience, and a bit of patience will do too. I gave up and removed the starter portion of the secondhand switch, cleaned out the accumulated grime of the years, re-greased the inner workings so they're like new and fitted it to my original switch. Success!

But, my headlight still didn't work.....This was when I had the crazy notion to actually look at the globe to see if it was burnt out. Imagine my surprise to see that the three-wire connector at the back of the headlight had melted slightly and the globe's glass was darkened. I promise never ever to go on again about my fancy schmancy 100/130 watt extra bright sooper dooper high output blaze the road ahead headlight globe! But it did last a year and a half.

Being the pack rat I am I had a spare three-wire connector from another model BMW in me old toolbox and in minutes I had the three wires spliced in with spade connectors. I have headlight again. And the path forward is now clear, Grasshopper. Oh, and the globe I used is a standard 55/60...but I'm eyeing that 90/100! Wax on, wax off.

I was reading the story and I was thinking that you have mentioned your high-falootin' headlight globe on occasions previously.

All's well that ends well.

Hey boys, just popping in momentarily. Thanks to my new Oz friends for showing me a great time on the bikes. Absolutely lovely!! Cheers!

ditto blakey ....giggles
maybe i can twist your arm into looking at that calibra product again twb

and it aint hard to wire up a relay with some nice juicy fat cable going right to where the light is made ....oh !!!! and a touch of deoxit protectorant ...just to finish off .

glad to hear the starter button is looking back to original again ...cheers mate

club_c wrote:Hey boys, just popping in momentarily. Thanks to my new Oz friends for showing me a great time on the bikes. Absolutely lovely!! Cheers!

cheers club_c ...

Hope you enjoy the rest of your holiday as much as I enjoyed yesterday. I did 789k in 13 hours. I was reminded why I want to fit better lights to the K100, I was hard telling wihch was high and low beam without looking for the blue light.

Two Wheels Better wrote:Imagine my surprise to see that the three-wire connector at the back of the headlight had melted slightly and the globe's glass was darkened. I promise never ever to go on again about my fancy schmancy 100/130 watt extra bright sooper dooper high output blaze the road ahead headlight globe! But it did last a year and a half.

Just look at the picture I posted a few weeks ago. The problem is not the power melting the plastic but just the heat generated by the bulb. The headlight being enclosed in the fairing doesn't help to cool down the bulb.

K Freak wrote: I did 789k in 13 hours.

I was wondering how you'd go with night coming quick and two or more hours to get back to Stanthorpe. I'm glad you made it back safely, didn't run into any hoppy skippy things and that you enjoyed your ride with us. Cool that you took the time to come out with us, too. See you on the road. Cheers!

13 hours !? You guys are hardcore!

OG

Ouch, that headlamp wiring looks crispy Bert! I'm thinking I'm glad I went with the conservative 60/75 bulb upgrade. I figured if the blind ol dog still can't see I'll have to mount some driving lights, lol!

OG

Oldgoat wrote:13 hours !? You guys are hardcore!

OG

OG, that was only K Freak who covered that distance. The rest of us slacked it a bit, took it easy through the mountains and valleys locally, having a good look around. K F rode out from Stanthorpe to Yatala before the ride then pealed off and continued on home after dark through some dangerous territory. It is not recommended to ride from dusk to dawn in the Lucky Country. Too many moving obstacles. He gets the 'long distance rider award' for the day!

Two Wheels Better wrote:

K Freak wrote: I did 789k in 13 hours.

I was wondering how you'd go with night coming quick and two or more hours to get back to Stanthorpe. I'm glad you made it back safely, didn't run into any hoppy skippy things and that you enjoyed your ride with us. Cool that you took the time to come out with us, too. See you on the road. Cheers!

No none of those things. With having recent rain there is good feed and water off the road and they dont come out onto the warm blacktop yet.
I usually just sit aout 50mtrs behind a car and use their Hi Beam, If they do scare one up you get a fair warning.
But never sit behind a truck because they line them up and hit them in the middle of the bar and they come out the back all minced up.
The only thing I saw was a fox and there are heaps of them at the moment.

13 hours with some kangaroo dodge ball thrown in for fun!? I may never complain about a long ride home in the rain again!

OG

Oldgoat wrote:13 hours with some kangaroo dodge ball thrown in for fun!? I may never complain about a long ride home in the rain again!

OG

The really big problem with the kangaroos is that the lights dazzle them and then they hop in the only direction they can see and that is where your lights are shining and that is right in front of you.
Many people here have an extra set of driving lights pointing at about 20deg to either side and that gives them somewhere else to hop but they are very unpredictable.
I avoid driving and riding at night if at all possible.
What gets them on the road is when it is cold and they come and lay on the still warm blacktop and when it is dry they come to get the good feed in the drains on each side of the road and as they are basicly a nocturnal feeder they can cause havoc at times.
Many drivers see them hop away in the distance and keep going but they will often come to the fence and turn back in panic, usually just in time to get hit by the car or bike.
I have seen the whole front end of a car destroyed by hitting a big male roo, they can be up to 200lb and 7feet high when they stand right up.

yep, look at my avatar that guy stands up and looks you in the eye with a belligerent challenging look that says "give me food or whatever you have or I'll kick the crap out of you". Nothing friendly about these cuddly looking boys, but they are fabulous to see close up and in full flight

aye ned .....a roo in full flight is an amazing thing to see

Here's a coupla scenic pictures of a nice little (camping/snorkeling/bushwalking) ride I did the other day down to the South West Rocks/Hat Head area of New South Wales, then returning via Waterfall Way up to Grafton and home to the Gold Coast area. I was away from Sunday through Wednesday. It was a five to six hour ride one way from my home along the coastal roads then a few more than that back inland and then northward. Enjoy!


Hat Head near Sunset.


Trial Bay from the lighthouse at Smoky Cape.


Breakers on the granite rocks of Trial Bay near the old gaol (jail). German prisoners (locals of German extraction) were kept here during WWI, similar to what the US did with the Japanese in internment camps during WWII, until the authorities realised there was no threat from them and the entire project was abandoned. The gaol and its buttresses were quarried from these rocks along the shoreline. It is now a museum.


Trial Bay Gaol.


Hat Head from Connors Track, a coastal trail that wends its way over several heads and beaches from the Korogoro River.


An alert 'roo picks himself from slumbering up as I approach from the summit of Hat Head.


An old wooden bridge on the 'Waterfall Way', a fine, two-lane road almost perfect for motorbikes and full of, no prizes for guessing correctly, waterfalls, near North Dorrigo.


Newell Falls is one of the many waterfalls along Waterfall Way.


Newell Falls Lookout.


The treetop walk (admission by donation) overlooking the valley at Dorrigo National Park sits about 25 metres off the rainforest floor and puts the viewer right into the forest's canopy.



These pictures are views of the valley looking out towards the Mid-North Coast of New South Wales from the treetop walk.


Yet another nice piece of twisty bitumen (often bumpy, which keeps the majority of cars away) on Waterfall Way.


The mighty K takes a well-deserved rest at the roadside along Waterfall Way near Nymboida, south of the town of Grafton, an area popular for camping, bushwalking, white water canoeing and kayaking.

nice trip twb .....never heard of the waterfalls way before ....way cool

i think ima gunna have to get that bevel box fixed up and set some new tyres on the beast and start travelling

thanks for the great pics

Just outstanding pics guys!

OG

Today was one of those days when a head-clearing ride was necessary. I had some uncomfortable business to attend to and then once that was attended to and clear I headed for the hills on some familiar roads, but in reverse of my usual route. It's a Wednesday here, so the mid-week traffic was light, to be almost non-existent later on this morning. Some of the narrower roads usually have cars and utes coming down them as you wend your way up if it's early enough...a fair few people live way up in the highlands of the hinterland and have to get down to the Gold Coast for work and school. I began my ride with a short, fast spin from Mudgeeraba past the excellent and secluded Pancho's Mexican restaurant up towards Springbrook NP to Purlingbrook Falls NP, a place I have fond memories of in the recent past. I hope you enjoy the small slide show of my ride.


The old road from Mudgeeraba to Austinville through the rainforest.


A deep, cool stream on a hot day does wonders for the soul. Mind the snakes, leeches and other snappy, bitey, sucking things.


The signs should be heeded.


Lovely, empty, winding roads through the bush. Made for motorbikes.


There's a track winding back...it's only a few hundred metres from the car park to the walkway above the falls, and it passes through some most pleasant greenery, under huge ferns and ancient Arctic Beech trees.


The creek at the top of Purlingbrook Falls, as it disappears over the escarpment.


You probably wouldn't want to ride a wooden barrel over these...


The drop is a coupla hundred metres to the rainforest floor below.


The creek (and possibly you in the wooden barrel) ends up here in this pool, called Waringa in the native tongue. Note the walking track around and behind the falls. You can't see it from this angle but you can walk behind the falls as they flow.


More fast, sweeping bends with a fair warning. Bikers ride these roads in their numbers on weekends and the local constabulary are well aware of them, and so they wait, and watch, and use radar, and issue 'road safety' fines which amount to a sin tax on road users. At times an overzealous bike and rider end up in the weeds at roadside and have to be pulled out. This we all pay for.


A longish, empty stretch near Hinze Dam.


The roads go here and there around the mountains of the border range. This fine road has near its end a most pleasant place for a cuppa and a good think about the next bit of riding you'll do to get home. You'll always find a willing participant.


And this is the place...but you'll often not find a seat to rest your bum on at the weekends at the Outpost in Canungra. That's why I go during the week while most everyone else is off at work. The Aussie-style pies and coffee are very good here.


From here you can just make out the skyline of Surfers Paradise and the rest of the Gold Coast, the mighty blue Pacific in the background. I like it up here a lot, away from all that madness and chaos.

The entire ride, from the Gold Coast, up into the hills from Mudgeeraba to Austinville, Springbrook NP, Binna Burra, the edge of the Numinbah Valley, downhill via Clagiraba Road, past the Kokoda military base into Canungra, then back home via Maudsland, Oxenford and the M1 motorway, was a mere 175 kilometres or so. A nice, bright Autumn day, with temps in the mid 20s, very little wind, a few high, fluffy clouds and a fair few dense black ones too, that threatened rain but were more show than action, and a sweet-running motorbike thrumming away between my knees. This is my pew in my church, my time for reflection, helmet therapy time; an inveterate traveller at home on the road.

As someone wiser than me once said..."I'd rather be sitting on my motorbike thinking about god than sitting in church thinking about riding my motorbike."

'Strewth, mates.

aww bless ya twb ...thems fine riding in them thar hills ...nice travellog mate .

cheers

Hard to top that post, TWB. Great pix, nice story--a happy ending. I echo the sentiments regarding deep contemplation on the bike. Riding is one of the more singular acts of concentration, connection and in-the-moment flow--"far from the madding crowd." AHHHH.

Your having shared these pictures and the others I've seen from the 'gathering' are quite contrary to the majority of mainstream images of Australia as it is portrayed in cinema and other commercial media here in the 'States. Clearly, the arid country is quite far from the places you show in your pics. Really very, very beautiful. javascript:emoticonp('')

Ta, Bobgass. I am just south of Brisbane along the border with New South Wales. I can go from temperate rainforest to dry scrub bush in a matter of a few kilometres. But we have had heaps of rain this past Summer and into Autumn now too which has had a marked affect on our bushland, which is usually quite dry and comes and goes in various patterns and stages since time beyond memory and history. The past few decades the El Nino and La Nina patterns have been identified as potential causes of this cyclic weather wheel. We have had record rains of late. The debate rages about that. I will refrain from offering my opinion as regards that often too delicate subject...This area is not typical for most of the rest of this vast and often scorched land. Have a squiz at the map and note the dark green bits round the edge. This is where most of the 'green' is left (after we've hacked, slashed, burnt and cut off our fair share of rainforest and timber in the name of progress) and as expected where most people live as well.

Australia just about fits inside the continental US so it is not a small place, and there is a lot of very dry, desiccated land (which is full of life of its own) to travel through once you're a few kilometres away from the burgeoning suburban and urban areas. Hollywood and the media do like to romanticise the character of a place.

Sounds a lot like areas of the US Pacific Northwest, where there are lush belts of vegetation and rain near the coast that turn into a rather lunar landscape the farther you drive inland. I've had the pleasure of visiting Oregon and NorCal a few times, and would very much like to spend more time there with a bike and explore the land the way I'd like to.

Alas--time, time . . .

Love to see folks M/C journey pix from everywhere! Thanks!

Yep, similar but slightly more sub-tropical than the Pacific 'Northwet', which is temperate. Over the Cascades on the East side it's another world from the Seattle/Tacoma side. Lotsa good roads up there, for sure.

Off on another half day ride just now down to Byron Bay via Mullumbimby and the Burringbar Range. Pictures tonight! Cheers.