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Suzuki Australia decided to head to the 2017 southern Congregation at Dargo in Victoria. It was the kind of riding dualsport riders dream about.
Across the top of Dargo High Plains Road.
A happy group on Mount Baw Baw. The weather was perfect.
Suzuki’s V-Stroms don’t get anything like the recognition they deserve in the adventure market in Australia. Both the 650 and 1000 are far more capable off-road than a first glance would have you believe, and while they may not compete with a GSX-R in out-and-out performance, they pack enough of a sporty punch to make late braking on tight mountain roads a whole heap of fun.
That’s the key to V-Stroms. They’re not high-performance in any area, but damn! They’re a lot of fun no matter what you ask them to do.
A run up to Mount Hotham in the Summer is a run made for V-Stroms.
To give the lie to that thought, two of the riders in the bunch were Shawn Giles and Josh Waters.
The pair have six Australian Superbike titles between them, and despite neither looking like they were putting in much effort, the winding, high-country roads around Mount Baw Baw and Mount Hotham in Victoria seemed to straighten out effortlessly beneath them. Which isn’t to say the rest of the Suzuki team didn’t keep up…they just didn’t look like it was effortless. They kind of looked like a herd of weasels on crystal meth.
Suzuki Australia’s Max Kurth was a top-notch support man. He drove the van, fuelled bikes, made sure everyone had water and generally put the gloss on a high-polish turnout.
Still, the pack stayed together and there’s no possible doubt about the good time every-one was having, whether it was dragging bikes from the scrub on the Dargo High Plains Road after overshooting a corner on the slippery gravel or blasting through the ghost gums of Hotham. The V-Stroms made all of it feel fantastic and the riders seemed to enjoy it to the max.
Fingers crossed for a 2018 version.
Suzuki’s Marketing Manager Motorcycles, Lewis Croft, organised a sensational weekend.
’Strom troopers
included a few DR650s. Melbourne’s Ty Johnston couldn’t make the ride, but he showed up at the Ringwood start on his very juicy DR800 BIG to wave everyone away. The bike earned plenty of admiring looks.
There was also a very flash-looking DR650SE which looked ready to take on the world, and it turned out to belong to Murray Tainton, a very familiar name to Australian enduro riders. Murray was recovering from a broken leg and wanted a settling-in ride.
The Suzuki folks themselves were on sexy yellow V-Stroms, 1000s and 650s, and despite a bit of a hiccup with the corner-man system leaving Melbourne itself, the day got off to a roaring start.
A brief storm couldn’t wipe the smiles off the riders sheltered under shop awnings in Boisdale.
Too good
It’s not easy to describe the Victorian high country to someone who hasn’t ridden there. The roads twist and turn, the scenery becomes more and more spectacular the further and higher they climb, and on a sunny day the air seems impossibly clear. The air is so clear that through the windscreen of a V-Strom a rider can see the future – and it’s full of tyres scuffed right over to the edges, excellent food and coffee, excitement on gravel roads and sunsets to break the heart of an ATO auditor.
Lunch was at the historic gold-mining village of Walhalla, and even a brief storm in the afternoon couldn’t wipe the smiles off the riders sheltered under shop awnings of Boisdale halfway through the afternoon.
The riding was just that enjoyable.
A stack of talent in one place. From left, Josh Waters, Shawn Giles and Miles Davis.
The Congregation
By the time the V-Stroms and DRs were parked outside the Dargo River Inn the Adventure Rider Magazine Southern Congregation had all but wound up for the day. Miles Davis had done his skills demo, the Maschine route had been ridden and given a universal thumbs up by those who’d been for a lap, the Bumot stand had blown everyone away with the quality of its product and there were cold beverages being consumed in the bar of the inn itself. The only remaining official proceeding was the awarding of prizes, which Andy Strapz himself – in attendance on his own DR-Z – handled like an absolute pro.
Murray Tainton’s DR650 had some cool mods.
Following the prize presentations, Suzuki’s Lewis Croft had Shawn Giles and Josh Waters talk through their thoughts on adventure riding after life in the world’s fastest fast lane, and everyone settled down to consume huge chicken parmies and other delicacies from the Dargo River Inn menu.
It may not have been as awesome as the riding, but for a Saturday evening away from home it was pretty damn good!
Melbourne’s Ty Johnston couldn’t make the ride, but he showed up at the Ringwood start on his very juicy DR800 BIG to wave everyone away.
Again, please?
Sunday morning at Dargo was just as good, with the fog filling the valley and the sun outlining the surrounding hills making a postcard presentation of the venue. The Suzukis purred into life and the diminished crew – a few went their own way and a few had decided to hang around in Dargo for a while – headed for the Dargo High Plains Road, Mount Hotham, Bright, and then, because the day was getting away, onto the freeway for the run back into Melbourne.
On the freeway, of course, the V-Stroms settled into an effortless, smooth rhythm which allowed riders to relax and reel off a couple of hundred kilometres or so in stress-free comfort… except for being caught behind a truckload of pigs for a while. That all got a bit smelly.
At the end of the two days it was a bunch of very happy riders who’d enjoyed a really first class ride. A couple of bikes had been dropped, but no-one was hurt and that’s all part of riding. Opportunities to enjoy great food and have a few laughs had been enjoyed to max, and, best of all, the riding had been absolutely blue-ribbon.
The Suzuki people are talking about repeating the same run next year, and if they do, and if Adventure Rider Magazine can possibly swing it, we’ll be there.
Guaranteed.
The Bumot guys held their banner high again.
Sunday morning at Dargo, the sun outlining the hills surrounding Dargo Valley Inn.
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