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BMW R1150GS Darwin to Melbourne run
(July-August 2023, by Guy 'Guido' Allen)
Yep, we've done it again: bought a motorcycle sight-unseen from some far-away place and ridden it home. Call it our ongoing buy-fly-ride campaign.
Here's our road diary from the trip...enjoy!
July 28 – Let's go and get the bike!
As some of you may know, we've developed
a bit of a habit of buying bikes in far-flung places and
riding them home. Call it our on-going fly-ride program.
It's had some challenges along the way,
requiring some running repairs, but that's part of the
fun.
Our next episurd starts today, when we
pick up what was the cheapest BMW R1150GS
listed on Bikesales a week ago. A 2002 ABS model
with factory panniers and 89,000km (55,000 miles) on
the odo, it was priced at Au$4000 (US$2700, GB£2100).
We fly up from Melbourne to Darwin
today and then turn around on the Saturday for the
3800km (2360 mile) ride home.
We reckon this model is generally
sensational value for money at the moment and, since
we already own an example, we'll change the oil on the
'new' one and sell it off when we get home.
Really,
buying it was just an excuse for a ride.
July 29 – Darwin to Katherine
Just a little way south of Darwin and you suddenly
realise how far it is to go...still over 1400km to Alice
Springs!
Fuel stops are plentiful on the Darwin to Katherine run.
Immediately south of Adelaide River is a great little
detour marked route B23. It's a sealed windy back road
that makes a welcome break from the Stuart Highway. Worth
a try and it takes little extra time.
And this is our road sign for the day, a quirky fire
safety message we found on the back road. Given it got
singed, we're can't say it was a complete success...
Harsh-looking countryside near Katherine.
July 30 – Katherine to Tennant Creek
The sign sums up today's jaunt: Katherine to Tennant Creek, about 670km (415 miles).
About 1000km into our Darwin to Melbourne run, we now
have a reasonable handle on what we got for the Au$4000 (US$2700, GB£2100) we
handed over for the bike, a 2002 BMW R1150GS ABS. And that
is, a bit of a bargain. The combination of remote location
and a motivated seller meant that it was probably even
better value than usual for this model.
Mechanically, there don't seem to be any issues. I
suspect a service would sharpen it up a little, but
otherwise it's in great shape with around 90,000km on the
odo.
The cosmetics are a little tired in places – it is after
all a 21-year-old machine that's clearly been used.
However the electrics, brakes (including ABS) and
suspension are all working just fine. The fuel gauge is
deeply pessimistic, which is my only rather minor grizzle.
On the plus side, a tool kit was on board and it came with
its own battery tender.
Performance is adequate rather than spectacular –
we're talking a relatively modest 85 horses in a package
that weighs 250kg when fully fuelled.
These things have a 22lt fuel tank which means a 330km (205 mile) range at 15km/lt, which is what we've been getting at a 130-140km/h (80-90mph) cruise.
Decent seating, big wheels (19-inch front) and
long-travel suspension combine to give you a very smooth
ride. The adjustable fairing screen diverts the worst of
the wind pressure but does create some turbulence.
Of course shaft drive means you have one less chore (i.e.
chain maintenance) to consider over a distance. So,
overall, fantastic bang for the buck.
And now to a few pics from today...
The first time I saw one of these, I thought I was
hallucinating...but no there's a 'thing' where people
dress up roadside termite mounds in a shirt. This one was
labelled 'Dad' – anyone you know?
A sign guaranteed to wake you up. In fact you see surprisingly few cattle wandering about, but the odd roadside body (when then attracts all the local hawks and eagles) gives credence to the warning.
Daly Waters is your typical colourful outback servo, with
fuel, accommodation, caravan park, swimming pool, bar and
even a spare twin-engined aircraft shell in case you're in
urgent need of one.
Still in Daly Waters, and you're encouraged to try the
famous Barra burgers (a long way from water) and (in the
background) buy yourself some grass to camp on!
At the three-ways. It was tempting to turn left and head
for Queensland...maybe next trip.
July 31 – Tennant Creek to Alice
Springs
Blundering in to Alice Springs this afternoon felt like
some sort of achievement, or at least a significant
milepost.
We're currently in the dry season (which runs May to
October), and winter, which means the temps are relatively
moderate. Think low to mid-30s (Centigrade) on most days.
One of the impacts of the dry season is the huge lift in
traffic and tourism. In Darwin, lots of businesses shut
down during the wet.
However what you see in the dry is an apparently endless
cavalcade of late-model SUVs towing equally fresh
caravans. You're often talking about having serious money
tied up in one of these rigs – Au$200k-plus is not
unusual. They easily dominate the traffic this time of
year and their fuel bills must be staggering.
Speaking of fuel, prices have typically been around
Au$2.50 per litre, though the Barrow Creek roadhouse
easily broke that benchmark at $2.90.
The place is well past its prime and it exemplifies the
whole quirky outback outpost theme. Here's a shot inside
the bar/service station counter.
Outside, guests are enticed to stay with an old fuel
hauler emblazoned with the promise that you have arrived
at the "home of bullshit and beer".
Those odd displays are prolific and sometimes surreal.
One I've been puzzling over for a while now (no shot,
unfortunately) is a sign carefully constructed of white
material and star pickets, saying "Hot Showers". What made
it odd was that it was literally in the middle of nowhere,
kilometres from any form of building or camp, among the
termite mounds.
A little up the road, we tripped over the township of
Aileron – would love to know how it came about that name.
The place is dominated by two giant statues: one a male
with spear, all 17 metres of it on a nearby hilltop (look
closely to the left of the pic), overlooking the place and
the nearby Stuart Highway. The other is a female and child
with a goanna. That's a few metres high and in the
village.
If the intention was to lure people in off the highway,
it's a success. There's a gallery which features
aboriginal art, including what is said to be an impressive
collection of Albert Namatjira's work. Unfortunately it
was closed when we cruised through.
As for the bike, it's running like a charm. We had a
fairing bolt try to jump ship near Devils Marbles
(above) but that was fixed in a couple of minutes. So far
so good...
August 1, Alice Springs to Coober Pedy
Third time lucky...you see this is my third attempt in
the last five years to make it to Coober Pedy, on a
recently-purchased motorcycle – in time to make the motel
booking.
Back in 2018 on the
Kawasaki GPz900R, I pulled up short in Marla, forced
to sort out a fuel breathing issue.
Again in 2019, this time on a
BMW R100GS Paris-Dakar, I pulled up short in Marla
to make some running repairs to its carburettor
diaphragms.
So you can imagine my thinking on the stretch south from
Alice Springs – what the hell is going to let go this
time? Nothing, as it turned out.
We did pull up in Marla for fuel and to salute the start
of the Oodnadatta Track.
You have to say that the level of 'gone troppo' drops
significantly as you head south past Alice Springs. Less
weird signs and roadside objects dressed as people.
However there is the odd oasis of crazy, such as the
Kulgera pub/servo.
And then there is Coober Pedy which makes everyone else
look like rank amateurs. You know you're getting close
when you see this 'welcome' sign.
The real one is far more impressive.
However this opal store is more indicative of what you're
going to encounter. Yep, that's a yacht and a Volkswagen
Beetle on giant spider legs in the forecourt.
Honestly, you could hire out the town and many of its
inhabitants as the set and extras for the next Mad Max
movie without changing a thing.
Our palatial digs for the night was the local Comfort Inn, which is a very typical Coober Pedy building. The inner structure is concrete, covered outside with a huge pile of dirt held in place by a mix of retaining wall and old car tyres. It sounds nuts, but it works.
Inside, there are no windows beyond reception. The interior walls, while made to look like they are hewn from rock, are in fact rendered concrete.
We've been sticking to a regime of 8.00am to 4.00pm so
far, mostly to avoid our great hairy hopping friends and
the utter destruction of a close encounter. Haven't seen a
live one close-up so far – though an emu and I gave each
other a big fright, much to the amusement of the driver of
the oncoming road train.
I have come to look forward to lunchtime, when the local
birds of prey come out to hunt. They turn on a nice
airshow.
As for the bike, it's running beautifully. Though I'm
hoping what seems to be more noise from the fuel pump is
simply a figment of my imagination...
And here's the obligatory selfie. I take one every
thirteenth Shrove Tuesday without fail. As you can see,
it's an experience that brings nothing but unbridled joy.
August 2, Coober Pedy to
Peterborough
Today was the downhill run for the outback section of the trip. It included the longest section of the Stuart Highway without fuel service, which is Coober Pedy to Glendambo at around 275km. Google maps claims its 254, but that's wrong.
It's funny how you settle into a situation, along with its discomforts. The last two days were among the longest at about 690km each, but have in some ways been the easiest. Sure the saddle isn't perfect, and the fairing generates a fair bit of buffeting, but whatever physical and mental adjustments you make to the circumstances changes the whole experience.
A couple of days into the trip and at a weak moment I
would have cheerfully sold you the bike for a large bottle
of bourbon and a plane ticket home. Now I'm ready to go
for another few weeks of riding. Maybe it's a version of
Stockholm Syndrome.
Anyway, Glendambo is quite the oasis these days, with a
large pub and two service stations. It's also the marker
that you're soon to end the great outback section of the
trip.
Just 100 kay down the road is Pimba, which is the
turn-off to Woomera. I didn't get there this time but have
been there before. It's an interesting place given the
massive surrounding proscribed area's mixed history as a
rocket firing range, nuclear test bed (Maralinga) and
immigrant detention centre. There are quite a few ghosts
about...
And it wouldn't be a day on the road without a quirky
sign or two – here's our pick. Evidently Peculiar Knob
produces premium iron ore.
The budget for the operation must be impressive, as it
has its own extensive road network, including underpasses
across the Stuart to avoid mixing with the caravans et al.
Port Augusta marks the the end of the Stuart Highway and
from there we've headed east to Peterborough. Just a
couple of hours away, it feels like a completely different
planet. You can no longer see 20-30km to the horizon.
There are lots more hills, most of them green instead of
red, there are houses and, most exciting, some corners!
Today's most impressive town entrance was an easy winner:
Orroroo with its kangaroo family crafted out of corrugated
iron. Cute.
While Peterborough makes a fuss of its railway history,
there is also a strong motorcycle theme in town.
A local mechanic on the main street has a giant poster of a circa 1918 Favourite brand motorcycle, made in Peterborough...
One of the local cafes runs a motorcycle theme...
And one of the pubs has a motorcycle
hanging off the balcony. The owner saw me stop for a pic
and wandered out to see if he could interest me in a room
for the night, with off-street parking. A tempting
thought, but unfortunately I was already booked elsewhere.
But that's not all! There's a
motorcycle museum in town, which Ian Falloon tells me holds a
pretty interesting collection that includes Portugese
motorcycles. Guess where I'm heading first thing in the
morning.
And the bike? Running sweetly, getting 16km/lt at around
120km/h and using next to no oil according to the sight
window. The trip means I'm getting a little attached to
the thing. Which is ridiculous, as I already have exactly
the same model sitting at home and even I can't justify
keeping a breeding pair...
August 3, Peterborough to Mildura
There was a bit of deja vu today as once again we were
eyeballing apparently endless vistas with arrow-straight
roads and flat-as landscapes. Except, unlike a couple of
days ago, the soil was not red. Still, the view looked
suspiciously familiar. It reminded me of that Steven
Wright gag, asking why he couldn't buy a camera that took
a close-up of the horizon...
Yesterday I made mention of a bit of a bike theme running
through beautiful downtown Peterborough and that muggins
intended to drop by the motorcycle museum which is housed
in a former church. It works for me.
Owner Ian Spooner was possibly caught off-guard by my
appearance at the crack of 9.00am and politely asked if
I'd come far. "Darwin," was the reply (I always wanted to
say that). His eyebrows shot up and he of course demanded
an explanation.
He's a second-generation motorcycle enthusiast. What
makes his collection stand out is the incredibly broad and
often quirky tastes. In the mix are motorcycles from
Belgium, Portugal, France and even Australia, rubbing
shoulders with product from better-known motorcycle-making
countries.
Drop in if you're in the area. In fact, I reckon it's
worth a special trip. Here's the
website.
And here's our quick pictorial of the
place.
With an easy run today, we spent a little time poking
around the various towns along the way...
Duelling pubs in Morgan – it must be interesting to
literally eyeball the competition across the road...
Still in Morgan: There was a time when every country town
seemed to have at least one of these, a local branch of
the big city bank, often with the manager living on
site...
An easy winner of our Mural for the Day award – Monash CFS (Country Fire Service) depicted putting out its own building and making a link to the past...
A tiny detail on the historic fire fighting truck caught
our eye – something sitting on the mudguard. A cup of
popcorn! A little joke by the artist, perhaps?
This country has a fine record of memorials to assorted
agricultural bugs and pests. For example the Cactoblastis
memorial near Dalby, in Queensland. That bug was
deliberately imported to cut a swathe through the pesky
and virulent prickly pear (also imported).
However the Phylloxia Arch on the Sturt Highway, near the quarantine stop at South Australia-Victoria border, easily wins the contest for flamboyance. In case you're wondering, Phylloxia is a rapacious destroyer of grape vines and SA is understandably keen to keep it out.
Now, strangely enough, if you wished to see the end of
the world (geographic rather than metaphysical, that is)
there appear to be a couple of popular routes. We came
across this one in Tasmania early this year. Sorry, it's
not a bike, but it is another old BMW...
South Australia has its own version and has even named a highway after it. Very thoughtful.
And the cheap and cheerful R1150GS? It's humming along nicely and seems to have benefited from the trip. Well, the engine has. We're now getting 18km/lt at a steady 120km/h – that is as good as the consumption gets on these things.
Tomorrow, we're tackling the 550-ish kays (340 miles) to home base in Melbourne, which has promised a full Winter welcome of rain and cold. Oh joy...
August 4, Home run – Mildura to
Melbourne
We made it back! A final 550km day, a couple of hours of which were spent in single-digit temps and rain, completed the Darwin-Melbourne run of 3800-ish kilometres (2360 miles) on the cheap and cheerful 2002 BMW R1150GS.
Above, we're parked in Nullawil, in a state (Victoria)
where silo art has become a thing. See the Silo Art Trail.
The bike stood up to the trip very well. It started with
a little under 90,000km (56,000 miles) on the odo and is
running as sweetly as when it started. No breakdowns or
issues, while oil use has been minimal.
A new set of tyres (the rear has worn square with all
those straight roads), a change of engine oil, and it will
be ready to go again. Very happy with that result.
Some random observations...
Perhaps the only potential Achilles heel on this model is the alternator belt, hidden away behind the front engine case. It's accessible enough and the previous owner was good enough to check it before I collected the bike. Nevertheless I carried a spare.
While I had an iPad with me, I also took an old road
atlas, just in case. And there were times when it gave me
a better understanding of what was coming up. However the
directions home were pretty simple. As one reader
described it, head south for 3000km and then turn left!
Of course the 'real' maps are handy for those many areas
where there is no data or mobile service.
In an exercise that was arguably over-cautious, I also
carried 5lt of spare fuel, in a pair of 2.5lt containers
bought through Andy
Strapz. Not really necessary on this trip, but it
gives you options should a road be cut off or there is a
last-minute change of plan.
In truth I could have easily doubled the week allowed for the trip, which would have made it more relaxing and provided more opportunity to explore. Maybe next time.
In any case, it was thoroughly enjoyable – particularly
the days spent cruising through the Northern Territory and
South Australia.
As for the whole buy-fly-ride thing, so long as you're prepared to take a risk on the condition of the machine, it's a great way to go. In this case I'm confident of getting my money back on the BMW, which will soon be sold, as I have another of the same model (above) already in the shed.
While the GS was absolutely perfect for the journey,
there is a huge range of machines out there that would
handle the gig with ease. For example I came across a
rider in Coober Pedy, touring on a Suzuki Bandit 1200.
That would have been a lot of fun.
***
Next trip? Well, shipping one of our fleet from Melbourne
across to Perth and crossing the Nullabor looked like a
great idea...see the story, here.
See a few earlier fly-ride bikes:
BMW K1100LT
***
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