From: couyant@convex.com (George Couyant)
Newsgroups: rec.motorcycles.dirt
Subject: I was in heaven..
Date: 7 Oct 92 06:05:33 GMT
Organization: CONVEX Computer Pty Limited, Melbourne, Australia
X-Disclaimer: This message was written by a user at CONVEX Computer
              Corp. The opinions expressed are those of the user and
              not necessarily those of CONVEX.

Okay people, grab a beer, smoke if you've got 'em and make yourselves 
comfortable....That old fart Couyant will take you for a trip through
Central Oz......

A bunch of us took off from a wet and cold Melbourne loaded to the gills 
in 4WD's and with dirt bikes in tow on trailers. The plan was to head up 
to Ayres Rock as quickly as possible to do the usual touristy things. 
Two days of hard driving. An 80 series Turbo Diesel Land Cruiser, Range
Rover Vogue and my family in a borrowed (!!) V6 Toyota 4 Runner. Each with 
2 bikes on trailers. The first shock of the trip was petrol consumption. 
Up the Stuart highway, we cruised on 150 kph and with petrol reaching 90 
cents per litre, the old Master Card got a bit of a hammering.

About 250 km's before the rock, we unloaded the bikes so that the cars
could stay on bitumen and we took off on whooped, sandy desert tracks,
hitting the highway after about 140km to fuel up and back on to tracks for
another 140km's. This track will remain for me as one of the most memorable. 
Up and over hundreds of sand dunes that were such a rich red colour. Saw 
heaps of wildlife too. Kangaroos, emus, dingos, eagles, parrots etc. etc. 
We met up with the cars at Ayres rock camping ground where we'd spend the 
next 3 nights. All this area has been handed back to the Aboriginals and 
the government leases it back. I must admit that I became a bit disgruntled 
that huge areas have been fenced off to non Aboriginals. We simply were not 
allowed to enter, no matter how hard we tried to persuade the officials. 

Next off to a place called Kings Canyon. About 300km's of dirt roads and
tracks. It had rained overnight and the 4wd's had a hard time getting
through. Thick, sticky red slush. We found it hard on the bikes too,
especially when in wheel ruts. It took us 11 hours to do the distance with
lots of winching and towing. We came across another family in a 4wd that
had rolled it through a bog hole. Not much damage, but we spent over an
hour getting it on its wheels and mobile again....What an exciting day
though...Everyone had a ball, even the kids.

A couple of nights at Kings Canyon and we did heaps of walking through the
place. Same deal with the tracks around the place. No whites allowed...Man,
was I getting pissed off. We met up with a Japanese couple touring around.
He was on a heavily loaded TT350 and his wife on an equally loaded XT250.
I'm amazed at how much they were carrying. Tents, clothes, cooking stuff,
food, 2, 20 lt fuel drums each, etc..etc. Hate to be riding in a side
wind. They were having a ball though, and even with the language
difficulties, we all got on really well.

Next, to a place called Palm Valley. This was rough. Almost the entire
track went up the Finke river bed. Man, this alternated between soft sand
and huge river rocks. We each dropped it at least a dozen times. Each bend
in the river brought on a new sight. It was beautiful. When I die, I want
someone to hire a helicopter and scatter my ashes along the river. I'm
definately going back there again. The 4wd's had a really slow drive
through. Lots of 1st gear low range stuff. We had our first bike problem
on this track. Husky 610 broke an exhaust mount, but we fixed it with some
fencing wire. My TT's sump guard took a pounding over the rocks too, but
hell, that's what it's there for.

We spent the night camping on the Finke river. Right in the middle of
nowhere...How can I describe the feeling? You could swear that you were
the first person to set foot in the place.

The next day we continued through a place called Hermansberg (sp?) which
would have to be the asshole of Australia. An Aboriginal settlement you
just have to see to believe. And, boy, did they sting us for petrol...
We hit the bitumen for a few km's and headed east until we hit Ellery
creek (dry creek bed). We turned left into it and into one of the most
beatiful places on earth. Virgin, rough country and as we rode along the
river bed (about 120km's all up) we couldn't help but to stop around
almost every bend to take it all in. One memorable moment was when we
rounded on bend, an old man was standing in front of us waving furiously.
He too had driven along the creek bed but from the north and couldn't resist
stopping and camping with his family near a big rock pool. Turns out he'd
heard us coming and wanted to tell us about how he wanted all his life to
do what we were doing but never got the chance. We spent a couple of hours
with him as he kept handing us ice cold cans of beer until our 4wd's
caught up. With a tear in his eye, he waved us goodbye after taking a few
group photos.

That night we camped in Glen Helen gorge near an old homestead. Next
morning we all took a helicopter ride through the west MacDonnell ranges,
through Ormiston and Glen Helen gorges. Man, what a buzz. Hans, the mad
pilot pulled the doors off his chopper for us so we could get the best
views. He flew down low through the gorges for us and I just loved it.

We loaded the bikes back on to the trailers and drove to Alice Springs
where we'd base ourselves for the next few days. We did a lot of walking
and driving as we explored the east and west MacDonnell ranges. By now we
were well aclimatized to the heat of the day. We serviced the bikes here
and put on fresh rubber etc. No drama so far. Not even a puncture. The TT
was humming along and a real pleasure to ride. Oh yea, I also changed the
fork oil to 15wt up from 10wt. It helped with all the high speed bumps
though maybe too stiff for the slow rocks. At least it was noticably
steadier in the rough stuff though at times a bit uncomfortable.

We started our south bound crossing of the Simpson desert following the
old Ghan railway (along the Finke desert race course). This track hasn't
changed one bit from the last time I rode it on an RM125. Endless whoops,
through dry creek beds, up and down sand hills and lots of fun. The TT was
in its element and I was reveling in it. We had trouble near Finke where I
came off hard through the incredibly soft sand in Finke river. I tumbled
off at about 80 kph and tweaked my wrist and shoulder. No big deal though
and I forgot about the pain within a coulpe of km's. We stopped in Finke
(another Aboriginal settlement littered with rubbish and rusting car
shells) and waited for the 4wd's. We had planned to make it to Dalhousie
thermal springs that night but the tracks were rough and littered with
slippery bog holes. No problem for the bikes, but the 4wd's had trouble.
We made it to Mt Dare homestead about 100km's before Dalhousie and slept
under the stars instead of setting up tents. There's a bar in the
homestead and we kind of went overboard that night. Next morning, we woke
up and those that didn't sleep in the cars had faces that looked like
peperoni pizzas. The mosquitos had a feast on us. Ever tried to ride with
a full face helmet when you're covered in bites? Not a pretty sight.

Dalhousie is an oasis in the middle of the desert. Crystal clear water
about 40 C coming up from the ground. No horrible sulfer smells either.
This water was great to drink. We spent 2 days there just relaxing and 
the kids loved this place too. I must tell you about an experience I had 
whilst floating in the water there. I heard a mobile phone ringing but
it didn't really register with me. You know, it's one of those sounds you
never pay any attention to. Along came this woman who yelled to her
husband that there was a phone call for him, to which he replied, "Yeah, 
tell him I'll call him back".... No big deal right? But shit, we were in
some of the most remote country on earth. Turns out he had a radio phone
in his car that runs through the Royal Flying Doctor service frequencies.
What an advertisment for modern communications! I want one!

We packed and were ready to leave when this convoy of 4wd's and army
Unimogs arrived. They were covered in fresh mud and one of the 4wd's had
obviously just recently rolled on its side because there was still fresh
mud in the door frames. They had just come up from the way we were
planning on heading out and they were moaning about the mother of all bog
holes about 14km's out. The 4wd rolled when it got sideways through the
bog and the unimog bogged as it tried to go in after it. Now, to bog a
unimog is a major feat. A unimog is this big all wheel drive truck that
has its diffs and axles high up with a chain drive down to its wheels.
They warned us to take the tracks back up through Mt Dare and bypass the
bog from tracks to the west. This would have been a 120km detour for us.
Instead, we headed off to have a look at the bog. I figured that if we
could get our car across, we could winch the others over. It took me 2
attempts, 4000rpm high range 4wd in second gear. The first I fell into the
unimog's ruts (3-4 foot deep!) and rested on the axles... I was winched
out for a second attempt at 6000 rpm and the car just crawled through, 
wheels spinning madly. The Land cruiser bogged deep and it took a lot of 
winching. The Range Rover hit the water and promptly stalled. It took us 
another hour or so to whinch the trailers and bikes across. No one was game 
to ride through for fear of drowning the bikes in the deep muddy water. 

We had a big days ride and drive down the Oodnadatta track where the week
before it was closed to traffic because of rain. It was murder.... High
speed stuff with slippery, rut infested bogs over some of the rises. It
had the bike riders rattled, but the 4wd's loved it. Ploughing through bog
holes at over 100 kph made a great site. We stopped in Oodnadatta for an
Oodnaburger for lunch. Man, what a hamburger! About 8 inches tall. Should
have seen the locals crowd around looking at the 6 filthy fools on dirt
bikes. Water is hard to come by in these areas and even the showers cost
you 2 bucks.

Went through a place called William Creek smack bang in the middle of the
Oodnadatta track where we sampled the wares of the most quaint outback pub.
This place was chock full of memerobelia (sp??) and the menu consisted of
things like "Pigs arse with apple sauce."  Whilst there, a light plane
buzzed above us and landed down the main street. The pilot got out and
ambled over to the pub, had a beer while he waited for the publican to get
a couple of slabs (24 cans to a slab) of beer from the back of the pub and
loaded them into his plane. The pilot jumped back in, started it and took
off back up the main street.... I love this country!

We spent the night in an old railway siding (we rejoined the old Ghan
railway) where there was an old water tank and water purifying 
installation. These were scattered at 100km (or so) intervals along the
railway to service the old steam trains. They pumped bore water and
removed the salts before storing it in the tanks. This place was great.
We saw our first snake here though....

Next day we loaded the bikes onto the trailers for the rest of the
Oodnadatta track and the drive into the Flinders Ranges. We detoured off
the track to have a look at lake Eyre which was full to the brim. It's
easy to see why the early explorers called it the inland sea because it
just goes off to the horizon. It has water in it every 8 years and is
full only every 100 years...Quite a sight.

It rained overnight in the Flinders ranges and the tracks were *really*
slippery. We endured endless low speed slides on our bums and the 4wd's
had a hard time. My back wheel was so full of mud that it actually locked!
The mud jammed between the tyre and the rear guard. Talk about tiring.

We set up camp high above a creek bed. This place was absolutely
wonderful. Mountain ranges all around us and the fields were ablaze with
colour from all the wild flowers. That evening I picked up my camp chair,
cigar and can of burbon and cola and hiked to the top of a ridge
overlooking the camp and valley we were in. I sat down and spent the next
hour up there, all alone and contemplating the good things in life. Man, I
loved it. I had a wedge tail eagle land like 20 ft away from me and it was
like he was saying,..."ok bud, you can sit there for a while...don't mind
me, I too just want to sit and enjoy the view..."

We drove all back home to Melbourne in another day and a half. Yep, it was
still raining.....

And so ends the Couyant jaunt into central Australia. My bike did just over
4,000 km and the 4wd's nearly 8,000 km's. I did not have one problem. Not
even one flat. We spent a bit of time each day going over the bikes and
making sure all was ok. We ran out of fuel a few times where we had
misjudged the track conditions but all that meant was that we just waited
around for the 4wd's to catch up. The worst get off was mine in Finke and
the worst bike damage was a broken head light and bent bars on a KTM600
after he slid into some rocks. Oh yea, we also laced a new rim onto the
TE610 in Alice Springs after he stuffed it over a rock at 120kph. Let's
see, I think I used 4 rear tyres and 2 fronts. The rears were IRC 5?? and
I also tried a Swallow desert tyre. This thing was as tough as nails. I'll
call the guy in Alice Springs where I bought it from and see if I can get
more. I think it'll hang together in rocks better than the IRC's (..You
listening Jeff??)

The only mods I made to my bike were higher gearing through a smaller rear
sprocket and I enlarged the tank by using hot water and a bit of air
pressure. It gave me an extra couple of litres and it looks and feels no
different. I had a back pack in which I carried a first aid kit, 4 litres
of fuel, munchies, a spare tube and a towel (because we often stopped at 
water holes for a swim). Tool pouch on the rear fender contained my usual 
tools and spares and the bumbag was full of drinks.

We are making this an annual event. It was just too good. The guys reckon
I should give up my day job and take up organising dirt bike tours through
central Oz...Now wouldn't that be fun....Decisions..decisions...

Until next time...
George C.


--
  ,--_|\ 	George Couyant			email couyant@convex.com
 /      \ 	Senior Systems Engineer		Ph    61 3 823-6216
 \_/--\*/	Convex Computer Pty Limited	Fax   61 3 823-6254
       ' 	
86 TT600,90 KX500,88 KX250,85 CR250,86 CR500, oh yea, and the kids 92 PW50.
From: mcclend@hpnmdla.sr.hp.com (Mike McClendon)
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1992 15:14:57 GMT
Subject: Re: Boot care
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Santa Rosa, CA