Read Between The Lines

Adventure Rider Issue #32

• It’s what we do – adventure motorbike magazine
• BMW GS Safari Enduro = adventure motorbikes, news, reviews, publication
• BMW F850GS Rallye X
• Strap Yourself In
• The Dempster
• TomTom Rider 450
• Read Between The Lines
• Locked Gates – motorbike magazine, australian motorcycle publication
• Ural Adventure Ride 2018
• Sri Lanka – adventure motorbike tour, motorcycle magazine
• The Best Job In The World = australian motorbike magazine
• Wet Arses
• Yamaha Tracer 900
• Congregation 2018
• We Didn’t Have PLBs In Those Days
• Sahara To Sunraysia = australian motorbike riding tours news event magazine
• Managing Risk with Miles Davis
• Thinking Big? Start Small with Andy Strapz
• A Precautionary Tale from Karen Ramsay
• Checkout
• Fit out – australian adventure motorbike riding

A keen Kawasaki cavalcade headed to Stonehenge, Queensland, for the 2018 KLR Riders Rally. Adventure Rider Magazine correspondent Mac Eggins and a truckload of hardware made the journey…just.

The KLR Riders Rally hit Stonehenge in Queensland for the 2018 event.

KLR owners are a loyal and sturdy breed, and there’s a Facebook group of particularly hardy adventure riders who celebrate Kawasaki’s single-cylinder adventure workhorse. A high point of the year for these owners is the annual KLR Riders Rally – the KLRRR – which heads to a different destina-tion each year. In 2017 Adventure Rider Magazine tagged along to Tottenham, the geographic centre of NSW, and enjoyed a great weekend.

For 2018 the KLRRR headed to Stonehenge in Queensland, and while Adventure Rider Magazine’s editor cruised from the east coast across to Roma, the distance between coffee stops from there had him sulking so he headed home.

That left only the intrepid, serious riders to complete the mission.

How serious? How intrepid?

We’ll let you judge for yourself. Here’s a couple of stories in the riders’ own words.

If you’re an experienced adventurer you’ll be able to read between the lines and catch a glimpse of some of the drama and achievement behind the brief tales.

Adventure Rider Magazine’s editor made excuses about ‘work commitments’ and bailed at Roma.

Richard Bell

As it happened, 17 bikes and 18 riders went the distance and enjoyed a social evening at the Stonehenge pub. Why the extra rider? Richard Bell, a mainstay of the KLR Facebook group, and a very committed KLR campaigner through some of Australia’s toughest territory, had a couple of problems on the way out.

The pics of the first problem and repair were interesting.

Once he was on his way again the hard-working Kawa had another problem.

Richard posted to the group:‘Yesterday on our leg to Blackall the KLR dropped a valve or holed a piston. RACQ picked me up and took me to Blackall and put me up for the night. I’m now on a bus to Longreach to get a car and head to the rally.’

We told you he was committed to the group.

When we asked the still-smiling Richard about the bike and he told us, “The bike has been abused for over 80,000km now, and the failure was most likely from work carried out by me.

The repair I did at the time was done knowing a future failure was imminent. We covered about a 1000km before it happened, still riding hard trails. I’ve sourced a low-kilometre replacement engine for $1000. How awesome are these bikes!”

Richard Bell, mainstay of the KLR Facebook group and a bloke who works his KLR hard.
Crikey.
A bit of Knead It and it’s good for another 1000km.

Mac attack

Meanwhile, Mac Eggins, without the editor, made his way through Mitchell, Morven, Augathella, Tambo, Blackall, Barcaldine, and Longreach. He was starting to relax when the chain snapped about 40km short of Stonehenge. Fortunately, Mac’s 18kg of tools and spares – weighed before he left – included a couple of spare joining links. With some patience he effected the repair and rolled into The ’Henge just as the sun was setting.

Here’s Mac’s story of the return ride in his own brief words:

• Sunday rode with John Murrell and Graeme, from Brisbane, on his Suzuki cruiser (a former KLR owner who wants to buy in again). Left at 7.00am and headed to Windorah
• Fuelled at Windorah where KLR Kel had broken the clutch on his Gen 1 KLR and wasn’t going anywhere. His brother rode with us to Quilpie where he headed south. Could only get unleaded at Quilpie, so my bike rattled and detonated all way to Charlieville. It doesn’t like 91RON
• Made Roma just after dark
• Monday departed Roma at 6.30am, headed home via main roads
• Over halfway to Warwick another chain link went west (ha ha) resulting in a 100m walk back to pick up the chain. The chainguard was jammed in the back wheel so it was removed and exited stage left. Refitted another (my last) joining link without the O-rings as I couldn’t compress the link enough with only pliers. Another hour had gone by the time I unloaded everything, fixed the chain, tested the link and repacked the tools and bike
• Headed to Deepwater where I found mate Brett was in his bike shop – motoretro.com.au – and I scabbed two extra joining links from him before heading home (near Grafton) to arrive at 5.20pm.

Bugger. A broken chain…the first one for the trip.
Mac’s 18kg tool kit.

Long way

Silvano Sclippa, a new member of the KLR group, travelled the longest distance to attend. Silvano’s post to the group read:
• ‘I travelled 6500km through the followingtowns enroute to Stonehenge: Dimbulah, Georgetown, Croydon, Normanton, Burketown, Hells Gate, Booroola, Roperbar, Mataranka, Katherine, Nhulunbuy, back to Katherine, then Three Ways, Barkley Homestead, Camoweel, Mt Isa, Cloncurry, Winton, Longreach, Stonehenge. It was great to catch up with fellow riders and exchange stories and ideas over beers. Looking forward to the 2019 KLRRR.

A well-deserved memento of a big ride.
Silvano Sclippa covered some serious distance.