Journal → OZ,..Round Two
28jan10 (Return to OZ after 4 month recovery from injuries)
At some point on the flight back to OZ, I opened up the shade thing covering the window, and took a gander expecting to see more water..or clouds ect…. But laid out under the wing was the Australian Outback…and it scared the sh*t out of me! you could really get your butt handed to you out there. Thats a whole lot of epic desert wilderness! It was hours until I spotted any sign of man..not to mention water or a tree. The Australians told me about it,..how it was the real deal,..but I didnt realize how remote and expansive it is until I saw for it myself. I guess flying over it isnt really seeing it….cant wait to ride it,..smell it,..and fry like bacon under that unforgiving sun.
Just got in to celebrate the national holiday(Australia Day)…good stuff,..these guys have a lot to celebrate,.good people, good country,..the culture reminds me of the American West, from what I’ve seen so far (which is limited I admit)
So now I’m sifting through parts at my buddy’s apartment in Forest Lake (Brisbane). Fortunately he doesnt have a car…cus I’ve commandeered the entire garage as the “operation room”. Essentially I did as you guys recommended,…scoured the US used parts market and shipped it all back.
and that my friends….is a perfectly strait subframe…oh yeah
This is going to sound a bit negligent on my part,..but I didnt actually locate my bike until today. I had arranged with some folks I’d met to have it removed from Morgan and Wacker BMW after the initial assesment many months ago,..but uh..er..shit happens., and I found out today that it was still there..oops,…Jason over there in the service department was very cool about it all. Initially, I was fortunate to have friends allowing me access to everything I needed (shop tools, welding, solid advice), but they’ve seem to have their hands full, and are out contact.. I understand that the world doesnt revolve around my motorcycle tour (but what a world that would be!)
So I’m standing by for a few more days to see if I can reach them, then I’ve got to find an alternative- ie renting ute, trailer,.finding some one kind enough to let me use their tools and keep the bike on location for a bit while I work on it.
my biggest project is swapping out the subframe after reinforcing it with welds. Locky a local rider and tour operator has really come through for me…upholding his original offer on panniers, looking forward to meeting him in person. The rest of the work should be relatively simple (never is,..but I like to be optimistic.
My goal is to get the old girl back on the road in time for that Karuah River Rallly.
Dec 31
I put a message out on the Australian forum of ADVrider.com,..asking for tools and shop space. In under an hour I had folks across Queensland offering their support. I was more than relieved to finaly have my hands on the bike again…I can still see my dream machine under all that bent metal. Things happen when you virtually abandon your bike for three months,…but all said things looked all right,.. the bike wasn’t cannablized or rusting outside. Key was gone…but what kinda advrider would I be if I didn’t have spare.
Lachlan and his family have been incredible hosts. I’ve got full access to what is every man’s dream shop(if you didn’t like this shop, there’s not an ounce of motor loving testorone in you body),..and Lachlan’s got serious skills in motorcycle everything.
And they’ve offered me a room ,…so I’ve can work on the bike as soon as I roll out of bed.
Pulling the frame turned out to be a relatively easy….thanks to good German engineering.
We showed up at Rob’s welding and engineering shop,.. he put aside his work and knocked out my frame reinforcements on the spot.
Rob and I had two things in common,.. we both wear oversized boots and shorts with no shame,…and we are both enourmas fans of the celestial pursuit of trout with a flyrod. Rob’s wife made some killer sandwhiches and conversed the finer points of things that matter…like bikes, travel..the outdoors,..and fishing.
Back in Lachlans shop we spent the day pushing,., pulling and wedging the new frame on. Fortunately Lachlan had the foresight to brace the bike in the right spots,.. so that the frame eventually lined up and bolted down.
Tomorrow, we’ll be fitting varios parts,..and ultimately a shiny new set of panniers. At some point, hopefully tomorrow,… I’ll fire it up and see if any surprises announce themselves. I’m not going to celebrate yet,..but its look’n real good!
