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Post by maccaoz on Apr 18, 2017 8:18:50 GMT 10
We live in interesting times . Strange that people don't stop to help these days,I still do. Riding out of Sydney on the Newcastle Exp.on the KLR last year and scored a nail in the rear tyre.No big deal as I had a new tube and all the tools.Sunday morning with a constant stream of traffic heading north including heaps of bikes but not one stopped.The old biker mates thing is dead & most 4x4 drivers are a strange mob ( I have a Dmax ,with stock everything but canopy )
Brisbane Ural dealer ? Good luck 🙄 just saying as they could be helpful. Ash's Spoked Wheels are a great wheel shop in Brisbane. If you folk need anything ( shed with tools,bed ) when you get to Brisbane just say the word 👌 A great trip report ,keep it coming . Cheers, Macca
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Post by brucek on Apr 18, 2017 10:55:30 GMT 10
" their big trip to Cape York....you could drive your grandmothers Hyundai to the top without issue........I towed my outback caravan with my Ural on the back of my stock standard, highway tired Colorado right round OZ, with more than 30 water crossings and many thousands of sand, gravel and rocky roads and tracks........all it took was care...!" Too true. I've seen many examples of that in my travels around Oz. Check some of the old Jack Absalom videos - in most of them his vehicle was a Sigma station wagon!
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Post by Jake on Apr 18, 2017 21:17:54 GMT 10
Uralee - thanks for the tip about Bruce at TSV Sidecars in Townsville. I have been in contact with him. He seems really switched on and I will drop in to see him on Thursday.
Maccaoz - thanks for the tip about Ash's Spoked Wheels in Brisbane - I will keep them in mind if I need help. Also - thanks for the kind offer of support, but both Jan and I originally come from Brisbane and we have wall-to-wall relatives there to stay with - none of whom know the first thing about motorcycles.
Today we drove our trusty steed from Cloncurry to Hughenden (about 400 km). We set out just before dawn to avoid the hot weather in the afternoons. I drive at only about 60 kph at such times because of my concern about wildlife. However, we got a huge fright just as we were leaving Cloncurry - a humungous kangaroo shot out of nowhere and hopped across the road about 3 meters in front of the outfit. It all happened so quickly, even though I was keeping a really sharp lookout. At such times you are really in the lap of the gods.
But the second fright of the day was even more terrifying. We were on the last leg of the day from Richmond to Hughenden and the road there is very badly rutted from all the heavy vehicle traffic (road trains). Apparently Mount Isa Mines have had a falling out with the rail operator and have largely stopped shipping in and out of Mount Isa by rail. So there is a large amount of heavy vehicle traffic (one road train which came past today had 64 wheels). There was also a very strong and gusty wind - sometimes head on and sometimes from either side - in fact, talking later to people pulling caravans, they commented on how trying the conditions had been during the day. So we were about half way along this really badly rutted stretch and I was driving at about 70 kph. Suddenly the motorcycle dropped down into a deep rut while the sidecar rode up on a high section which had been squeezed up alongside the deep rut. And as that happened, a strong gust of wind caught the sidecar and lifted it. The entire outfit was thrown strongly to the right, across the opposite lane. It flashed through my mind "Is this the accident which finally gets us?". If there had been an oncoming vehicle, we would have been gonners. But I threw my weight towards the sidecar and managed to bring the outfit around parallel to the road (instead of heading into the bush on the right hand side). And then, suddenly, it was all over and we drove back onto the correct side of the road and continued on - both a little shaken. The whole episode took perhaps half a second or one second. But it was definitely one of the highlights of our trip and emphasised what we all know - a "normal" situation can turn bad / horrible / fatal in a split second.
Hopefully the winds will be much abated for tomorrow.
Cheers, Jake (David Jenkinson)
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Post by Jake on Apr 21, 2017 18:35:00 GMT 10
Today is Day 38 and we have now covered a bit over 12,000 km since we headed off. We are staying overnight in Sarina, a bit south of Mackay. We had a wonderful visit to Townsville - as recommended, we called on Bruce Watson at TSV Sidecars, the URAL agent, and met the irrepressible "Spanner" who, for those who do not know her, was originally Bruce's apprentice but now owns and operates the general motorcycle business (Bruce now focusses on sidecars). I was worried about spoke tension in my rear wheel and had a go at tensioning it myself somewhere out near Mount Isa, but it was the first time I had done this and I did not feel very confident, so Bruce ran over it again and showed me some very useful tips on how best to do the job. Riding conditions have changed completely since leaving Townsville and heading south on the Bruce Highway. Compared with recent weeks in north and central Australia, there is now lots more traffic, including masses of truck traffic, and it seems to be raining on and off all the time. Today we have been in rain about 50% of the time and several of the storms delivered truly torrential downpours where the only sensible thing to do was pull under cover as soon as possible and wait it out. I find the biggest problem in such circumstances is not the rain itself but spray and mist from the traffic, particularly trucks, which can reduce visibility to not very much. There are lots of people in our motel tonight - apparently rain associated with the recent cyclone caused a landslide onto the train line which hauls coal to the port - trains cannot get through and ships are building up at the port awaiting loading. So everyone here is looking tired and hassled. All this might sound a bit negative but, actually, we have been quite enjoying ourselves. We set out on this trip to experience an adventure and these tropical rain conditions are just one more aspect of that. Furthermore, Jan is happy - she refuses to drive in such conditions and, instead, curls up snug and warm in the sidecar with the tourneau cover tucked up under her chin. I have taken to wearing my riding jacket again in these wet conditions (I rode largely in a shirt in central Australia, because of the heat) but I cannot bear to wear my riding trousers or waterproof overpants since they make me so hot and sticky. Instead, I find a pair of shorts works well. The jacket keeps my upper body dry and the shorts get soaked, then dry, then soaked again etc. But the water is warm so, all in all, I find the situation quite comfortable. Cheers, Jake (David and Jan Jenkinson)
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roscoau
Life? Don't talk to me about life!
Posts: 838
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Post by roscoau on Apr 22, 2017 9:48:22 GMT 10
Eggcellent! How far south are you coming?
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Post by Jake on Apr 26, 2017 7:58:21 GMT 10
Today is Day 43 and we have now covered 13,180 km. We stayed overnight in Brisbane and will be here for a couple of days working on the URAL and visiting family. Then we will head south on the Pacific Highway through Sydney, Lakes Entrance etc to Melbourne where we will catch the overnight ferry back to Tasmania in about 2 weeks - if all goes well - and it has all gone well so far. Today I am going to Ash's Spoked Wheelz at Capalaba - hopefully a new rim and a new set of spokes will have arrived there from Clare at URAL Oz and Ash's will rebuild the old cracked spare wheel for me. I think I will also have my other wheels tensioned, trued and balanced since I have developed a severe vibration between 50 and 60 kph and this could be due to my on-road repairs: random spoke tensioning and fitting replacement tyres without the ability to balance wheels afterwards. The drive from Townsville to about Miriam Vale was very trying - mostly one-lane roads with very occasional passing lanes, lots of traffic including heaps of trucks and sporadic rain which reduced visibility mainly due to road spray. Combine that with my maximum speed of 75 kph and the result was streams of cars piled up behind me. Out west, traffic was friendly, there was little tailgating, trucks passed with a wave and a toot and all was well. But coming down the east coast we have encountered "city agro" - severe tailgating, aggressive traffic and occasional very dangerous driving - we have been forced off the road twice. I fully realise that our low speed is a major contributor here but I am unwilling to drive faster that 80 kph under any circumstances. I am sure the rig is well setup (tyre pressures, toe-in and lean) since, unloaded, it rides like a dream. But with all our gear (660 kg GVM), and with the weight biased towards the back, the front wheel is light. Furthermore, at speed there is aerodynamic lift under the sidecar so that, at about 80 kph, the front end gets very light and floaty. We have tried to get as much weight as possible into the sidecar, particularly towards the front, but there is not much more that we can do since the boot is full of heavy spare parts with our personal bags on the rear luggage rack, which overhangs the rear of the bike. Our Esky is also quite heavy with food and drink and sits on my custom rack over the rear wheel. The rear weight bias is such that, when I start off with the bike pointing uphill, I have to be very careful not to lift the front wheel off the ground, as has happened on several occasions in traffic. This rear weight bias has also made the outfit very susceptible to wind buffeting - it feels downright dangerous at 70 - 75 kph in buffeting cross winds and I have been down to 60 - 65 kph in some such situations. Clearly weight and weight distribution is a very important factor with these outfits and I will be much more aware of this on any future trip. The drive into Brisbane from Gympie was a much happier affair since the road was a two-lane divided highway and the following traffic could happily pass me with ease. Also, it was Anzac Day so there were very few trucks about. This turned the nightmare drives on the previous couple of days into a pleasant ride. So far, our Russian pony has never let us down. It may develop all sorts of whines, rattles, vibrations and minor problems but it has been 100% dependable so far in getting us to our destination every day. In many ways it is a bit like me at the age of 70 - lots of minor problems develop but I am still getting there and laughing along the way. I occasionally think: I was born in 1946; this bike was born (production commenced in 1941/42) - deep down, we are about the same age and showing similar characteristics. Cheers for now, Jake (David and Jan)
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roscoau
Life? Don't talk to me about life!
Posts: 838
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Post by roscoau on Apr 26, 2017 16:37:12 GMT 10
You'll be going past my place... please drop in for a coffee... (Pambula)
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Post by maccaoz on Apr 26, 2017 17:23:40 GMT 10
G'day Jake I hope all went well at Ash's , they did a spot on job on my 01 Bonnie when it had the busted spokes problem that was common on that model. Never another broken spoke after they did the repair . If you need a hand with anything we are at Durack (Southside ) & only too happy to help . Macca
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Post by michaelandtweety on Apr 27, 2017 17:33:35 GMT 10
Hi guys, great trip and commentary.
If your Ural is set up to handle like a dream when empty, then it is totally wrong with the weight you are carrying. Any sidecar should be set up for the load it carries. If you measure your toe in and lean out now, loaded with rider and passenger, it will be wrong. This will be contributing to the handling problem at speed, and the cracked wheel. It is a pain to adjust every time, so go for a compromise biased towards the weight you carry most. Cheers Michael
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Post by Uralee on Apr 27, 2017 18:56:52 GMT 10
You'll be going past my place... please drop in for a coffee... (Pambula) Yep, no need to call.....Ross will be home......never goes anywhere. Ha ha ha .......missed you at the SideCar Rally Ross.
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