250cc Motorcycle Touring and Camping in Outback South Australia

The 250cc limit for Learners and some P Plate licensed riders does not need to exclude the rider from touring of outback areas of South Australia. I enjoyed motorcycling, bush walking and camping for 10 days in early September 99. For half of the time I accompanied three friends who were four wheel driving the same route.

The Motorcycle

I use a 1992 Honda CB250 road bike for commuting to work. It was fitted with standard tubeless tyres, about 95% of tread remaining at the start of the journey. Installed tyre "Goop" (puncture proof fluid) in front and rear tyres. I carried a spare rear tube but had no way of breaking the bead and had no tyre levers for installing the tube. I carried a bicycle hand pump that could inflate the tyres to operating pressure (this required about 400 strokes for the rear tyre). When I replaced the tyre about 4 months later, the liquid had almost completely disappeared and only the solid fibre remained - this was ineffective at retaining air, after a nail puncture. The motorcycle was recently serviced and had a young O-ring chain. The bike has a Ventura rack over the tail section and a National Deflector windscreen up front.

Climate

In the spring roads are dry and had been for some weeks. "Annual" rainfall is very low in Innamincka. Days were warm days (22 to 30C), evenings were cool after sunset and sometimes night / pre dawn temperatures were less than 10C.

Limitations

About 1350 kilometres of the 2500 kilometre trip was on dirt roads. Sandy road conditions is the challenges for the motorcycle.
Wet roads would have severely limited the road travel - some of the unpaved roads have clay sections that become greasy when wet.
The fuel range of the motorcycle is about 440 kilometres without extra fuel. The theoretical range for the 16 litre tank is 470 kilometres if fuel usage of 3.4 litres per 100 kilometres was achieved. I carried a 5 litre fuel container because the 450 kilometre stretch between Arkaroola and Innamincka.

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Innamincka Travelogue

Flinders Ranges Touring

Overseas Touring

Loading / Luggage Capacity of the Motorcycle

Innamincka Hotel, outback South Australia 17kb

How I loaded the motorcycle:

I used old Army zip up duffle bag. About 720mm long (wide) and about 360mm diameter (about 73 litre) Had a button down flap over the zip that helped to minimise dust infiltration. I packed the duffle bag so that the drivers seating position would not be restricted and so that the heavier equipment was in the centre, close to the pillion seat. Lighter packs were in the outboard ends. The duffle bag ends sagged but not excessively.
Ventura rack with 44 litre Aero pack on the back for light weight high volume items. The Ventura pack allowed extra items to be added to the rear rack without much problem.

Luggage

stuff sacks for ease of packing - clothing, food, cooking, miscellaneous items in the duffle bag - loosely packed
4 litre wine bladders for water storage, carting
light weight day pack for day hikes, loaded with chap stick for lips, sun block, camera, hat, water, lunch, wallet, maps, keys

Attachment

The Ventura bag was at the rear mounted on the rack. The duffle bag was on the pillion seat area, traverse / cross mounted and attached with 2 heavy flat luggage straps (thicker than normal bungee cords). Two bungee cords were cross strapped and also restrain the base of the day pack. Day pack on top of the duffle bag attached to the front of the Ventura bag.
When camped the Ventura bag provided storage space for day trips and hikes - place to store Coat and pants when on day walks.

Equipment

I tried to minimise the load and started with a luggage mass of less than 20 kilograms. I used my Eureka Moonshadow - 1.5 person tent - 2.2 kg pack weight (with extra plastic pegs). Most "bike/hike" class tents would be suitable. I used a down sleeping bag (BushLite Super Abyss, -7C rating) that has a back pocket for a 3/4 length self inflating 25mm thick mattress. This minimizes packing space requirement. The sleeping bag was loosely packed in the 45 litre Ventura pack. I brought a folding 3 leg stool for seating. (hikers often carry a small piece of high density foam (from an old sleeping mat) for sitting on in the bush.

Clothing

Protective Clothing:

Rivett Gunbarrrel (cordura) jacket without liner installed (no separate rain jacket). this jacket has velcro adjustments on sleeve cuffs and no wrist cuffs it can allow air flow up the arms on hot days. Other adjustments can be loosened on hot days to improve flow through ventilation.
Dririder Extreme (cordura) pants - without liner installed eliminated the need for separate rain pants. Even on hotter days I wore these with shorts underneath.

Other Clothing:

micro fibre pants, shirt (long and short sleeve), shorts, polartec fleecy jumper, Tee shirts, underwear, socks, sandals (camp shoes). Walking boots for hiking. Moleskin jeans for after sunset and for, riding on hot days (but not used for that, these could have done without these), toiletry items, etc.

Food and Water

one pot pasta dishes (Continental, San Remo brands etc.)
one pot rice dishes (Continental, San Remo...)
dried soup mixes (Continental, San Remo...)
tinned meat - ham, chicken, turkey in light weight tins (KR Hormel brand)
dried fruit - apricots, figs, sultanas
nuts - almonds
whole grain bread rolls lasted three or four days
Wheetbix cereal

The Laundry Cycle

I planned to use a 5 day laundry cycle, but there was no automatic washers at Innamincka. I should have planned to hand wash laundry (wash in morning, dry during daytime on drier days) and reduced to 3 to 4 day laundry cycle. I could have reduced the clothing by one tee shirt and a pair of socks and underwear. About 1.5 cups of laundry detergent plus a nylon cord / clothes line was needed for the laundry. I used granny knots in the clothes line around socks rather than clothes pins, and threaded the line through limb holes in the garments to eliminate the need for clothes pins.

Travelling Light

Track to Cameron Corner through red sand hills 21kb

First camp in Gammon Ranges was at Weetoolta bush camp had no local drinking or washing water. I had extra space and unused carrying capacity - for water. I was glad to be able to bring 8 litres of water (more than one day's requirement) on the initial ride in to the camp with over 5 kilometres of rough track. I was able to minimise clothing and equipment because of previous experience in motorcycle camping. I knew that some food/provisions could be purchases at Arkaroola and Innamincka so I reduced the mass and volume of food items through local purchase.

Outback Driving

About 1350 of the 2500 kilometres were over dirt roads. I developed riding skills during the trip.

Right Attitude

Initially I expected / planned to achieve an average of 70 to 80 kilometres per hour on the dirt roads. Trying to maintain this average speed drained my mental and physical energy. By setting a safety and risk minimization target, I enjoyed the ride a lot more.

Rest Breaks

I found the ride was more enjoyable when I adhered to planned rest breaks, where I dismounted, walked around, stretched, had a drink, ate a snack, etc. One day, the distance to be travelled was 440 kilometres over dirt roads traversing sand dunes. Rest breaks every 110 kilometres divided the journey into quarters. Enforcing a rest break strategy, helped me to maintain concentration of the task of riding though frequently changing road conditions.

Tyre Pressure

I was advised to use a lower tyre pressure that for city driving. Let the tyres do more of the work - since I did not have long travel suspension. The larger contact patch helps in sandy conditions.

Sandy Patches in the Roads

Overlooking Sturt's Stoney Desert, Queensland 17kb

This was a road condition that I was poorly prepared for. The areas of my previous travel did not prepare me for this challenge. Loose sand, up to about 30mm deep was handled with the normal riding skills. Look for firm ground and reduce speed before crossing sandy patches. There were frequent deeper sandy patches that covered the width of the roadway - probably 100 to 200mm deep. In these conditions, the "city" riding skills did not work. Trying to slow down, once in the deep sand resulted in "snaking" or under damped left to right steering of the front wheel - frightening to me. Slowing down before the sandy section was a good strategy. The 18 inch diameter front wheel with relatively small grooves in the tread pattern, tended to plow through the sand. The push left - turn left (precession) turning principle did not function in deep sand. Therefore the easiest path through the deep sand was a straight line with the wheel pointed firmly straight ahead. Applying power to the rear wheel helped to transfer the weight away from the front wheel. Sliding rearward on the seat also helped to unload the front wheel. Moderate acceleration through the deep sandy section (starting from a slow speed) gave good results. If I found myself travelling faster than I wanted to, (with sand depth increasing) I found that I could change down a gear, maintain power to the rear wheel and still retain control while decreasing speed. Reducing power and trying to "coast" through sandy sections (to reduce speed) gave unfavourable results.

Stony Roads

This became a welcome sight. They indicated a firm road surface, but an increased risk of tyre puncture.

Corrugations

Coongie Lakes about 106 km north of Innamincka SA 17kb

Corrugations indicated a firm surface - at least on the high spots. Transferring weight to the foot pegs allowed the motorcycle to pitch more freely - rather than poking and jarring me. The corrugations were created by vehicles other than motorcycles - the resonant frequency of the corrugations was not a serious problem in my experience. Some deep corrugations were more like potholes, that could be filled with or obscured by bull dust - exceeding the suspensions capabilities. The roads had graded heaps at both edges and bull dust sometimes collect at the edges - even though the edges looked smooth and level, they might be powdery dust- hiding road hazards beneath.

Loose Gravel

This was seldom present - the roads were usually scraped out of the local earth. In most instances a firm track could be found through any patches of loose stone.

Curves

On dirt roads, curves tended to have the firmest track on the inside of the curve, loose material found its way to the outside lane of the track. It was important to avoid deep sand on curves - since the safest path (for me) through deep sand was a straight line.

Kangaroos

In the remote areas where trees and shrubs were close to the roadway, kangaroos were a common sight throughout the day, They would rise from their shady rests and bound away, sometimes crossing in front of vehicles. Dawn and dusk the wildlife is on the move and on the road.

Emus

Emus are unpredictable and swift.

Livestock

Cattle seemed to be curious about the motorcycle, it was quieter than most vehicles in the area but still smaller than yearling cattle. Cattle seldom moved off the road, so I slowed down and drove down the side of the road that had more space.

Sheep congregated together. Usually if one crossed the road, they all crossed the road - and made every effort to do so before the motorcycle passed.

Summary

Choosing appropriate equipment and modifying behaviour to suit the conditions helped to make the tour more enjoyable. I also use my camping equipment for bush walking. The light weight equipment increases the purchase cost. Purchase cost can usually be minimized by buying the most appropriate equipment the first time, rather than trying the cheaper option first then buying the more suitable equipment before the cheaper equipment wears out.