08/02/12
Don't you hate it when you say something is done or fixed and you find out later that it's not ?? Gets me, every time !!

Liviul - second from the right :-)

I stayed in Yass until midday to watch Liviul's first swimming race. She won !! Of course, naturally, why wouldn't she ??, It was expected (by me !!). Not one eyed at all !! Noooo.



I headed off at about 1230. Heading West toward SA. I got to Wodonga to refuel and the bike's battery was flat !!! %%%(;_*!!. Got a jump start and headed off but after about 10K the bike acted like it was firing on one cylinder again !! Bugger. Turned the bike around and began to push it (yes, with the trailer) back to town. I did about 4 - 5k before quitting. I was cactus !!

 I rang Kate who gave me the number for the Ulysses club in Wodonga and the fellow (Des Malone) came out with a 'jump starter' which I hooked up and left for 5 min before starting the bike to get a bit of charge into the bike battery. He then suggested that I follow him to his place and plug the battery into his charger. He and his wife went out of their way to make sure I was OK. She made me a cup of tea and a couple of rounds of beef sandwiches to shove down my throat and then washed it all down with a beer !!

She described herself as an ex biker's moll :-) as she does not go on his rides anymore. Des rides a 2006 BMW R1150R with ABS. A beautifully kept bike. I left about 2000hrs with a fully charged battery and headed to Benella where I pulled into the van park. It was closed and I could not raise anyone but as the boom gate kept out cars not bikes in I went, found a powered site, plugged in the battery to my charger and called it a night !!

09/02/12
A very early start saw me in Bendigo to refuel. IT WAS FREEZING !!! I was so cold that when I stopped I could not stop shivering for some time. Luckily I had pulled up at a servo that had a tiny K'Mart workshop attached. I went in and asked if I could plug my battery charger to a point to recharge my battery which was flat again. He said "no worries" and hooked my battery to his quicker charger then directed me to a bakers shop 150m away who made great coffee :-) I felt better after a hot coffee and a breakfast foccia. (bacon, eggs, cheese, onions and sliced sausages between two slices of toasted foccia) Man I even felt warmer !!

By then the battery was fully charged (at no charge) and I was on my way. This time with a .5m x .5m piece of bubble wrap between my shirts and the jacket. Ahhhh. Bliss !! With Head down and bum up :-) I headed off to Ararat where I conked out of battery power 200m from a small workshop. This time it cost me $5 to get the battery recharged but it lasted me to Naracoorte. I pulled into Kate & Gordon's place late in the afternoon, a day later than anticipated due to the problems I was having. As it couldn't have been the regulator I think it was the alternator that has packed up !!??!!??. Anyway, a shower and a feed and I called it a day.

10/02/12
Up at 0545hrs for a 0700 start for Adelaide sans the trailer. I had removed the tow bar and packed enough for an overnight stay if required. The battery was recharged and I hooked up my trailer battery as well to give me more range. The bike battery was 14Ah and the trailer battery was 28Ah. Theoretically, triple the distance. I had lashed my overnight bag over the top of the battery which was sitting on the passenger seat :-) At Tailun Bend I stopped  to refuel and the overnight bag was still there, but no spare battery. It was somewhere between there and Kieth where I had stopped for a hot drink, Bugger !! Crossing fingers I turned the key. Beauty !! Lots of get up and go so I turned it off and went in for a coffee and sandwich.

Inside were 10 motorcyclists who were on their way back to Adelaide after spending a week it Tasmania. I asked them what they saw and they all said it was too much of a blur but that they would all go back for a longer period of time to actually see something.I told them to plan for at LEAST a month :-)

I arrived in Peter Stevens, Adelaide, at about 1245 and rang the credit society to say I would be a little late as I had yet to sign the insurance papers for the new bike. That done I hoofed off to them to hand over the papers and to pick up the cheque for the bike. That felt good. Having the cheque in my pocket heading back to the bike shop !! By then it was nearly 1500 and it turned out that I would be taking the bike at 0900 - 0930 tomorrow.  It was having a final check etc etc !! I wheeled the Song across the road to their workshop, pulled out the battery to recharge overnight, and told them I would be back at 0900 to remove my GPS wiring etc. Oh yes, It rained all the way from Naracoorte to Adelaide and well into the evening !! A COLD day indeed !!

Found a backpackers nearby and after a good feed of curried chicken and rice, A German and then a Belgium beer it was lights out for me.......

11/02/12
Early start. Went to the Central Markets for a coffee and then back to the Peter Stevens workshop to wait for them to open. Replaced the battery, removed the GPS wiring and then across to road to sign the last of the papers for the new bike !! :-) I wheeled it out of the showroom floor at about 1000 and was able to walk around it with no other bikes cluttering my way. Man she looked good !! Fired her up, quiet !!!!!! Getting a bit pumped now. I lashed down my overnight bag, put on all the gear and, oh yes, a new helmet to go with the bike. Snicked into first gear and away we went, purring down the road without a care in the world !! It felt soooooo good sitting on something more reliable and with heaps more grunt.

Not ridden yet !!

At Kieth - half way to Naracoorte

Loaded and heading back to Naracoorte

There was light rain falling but with my good new found friend, 'bubble wrap', I was warmer than I had been for some time. The GPS led me out of the city and I was able to go a bit faster than 60kph. 80kph in a blink, 100kph a blink later and quiet as !! 120kph on the speedo still quiet (the GPS said 110kph !!) and I'm under 4000rpm !! The Song would have been at 5000rpm by now. I filled up at Tailum Bend and by now the rain had stopped.  With all the roadworks going there I was able to vary the run in revs from 2500 to 4000 most of the way to Kieth and then cruise to Naracoorte at 100 - 105kph (GPS speed). Now to get the tow bar organised !! That won't happen until Monday.



13/02/12
Wired the bike up for the trailer. Finished this about 1300 hrs and when I hooked up the trailer to test it. nothing worked ???
What's going on ??? Checked and rechecked everything...  Every wire was sealed in heat shrink !! Then I found it !! The earth was secured between two painted surfaces !! Dumbo !!!
I re secured the earth wire to a bit of bare metal and ..... viola !! Everything doing what it was supposed to.

Leaving Naracoorte for Adelaide

We then received a call from Sparky (a friend of Brett's and Gordon. (He had offered to modify my tow bar to fit the Susy). He was home early and asked to bring the bike around. It turned out that apart from making two new drop bars the tow bar needed very little modification !! It took about 2 hours and the tow bar was fitted and ready to rock and roll !! Was I a happy Chappy ?? Sure was !! :-) I went back to Kate & Gordon's and hooked up the trailer (which I had already reloaded except for the clothing bag) ready to go in the morning. AT LAST !!!!!!!!!

14/02/12
Left Naracoorte at 0730 (15 degrees) with the trailer in tow. Except for a slight increase in fuel consumption the bike handled like there was no trailer there :-) Ripper !! I arrived in Adelaide at 1200 and dropped the bike in for it's first service. Picked it up at 1700 and $350 broker !! I asked where they put the gold as it was a bit savage for a first service !! No Gold !!!! Staying the night in a van park 3km from the heart of the city. Heading NORTH tomorrow :-)