Waratah Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Hello to all members on the forum from sunny Sydney, Australia, I’ve finally made the move from an Airhead to an Oilhead after picking up a 2000 model R1100RT yesterday afternoon. I’ve always enjoyed the air-cooled twins, starting with an R100/7 in the late 1970s, then a succession of R100RT’s and an R100LT until my bike up until now, a 1988 R100RS. I recently had an opportunity of riding an Oilhead and came away from the experience quite impressed. Looking at a forthcoming ride of 3,200km (1,990 miles) through some of Australia’s south-eastern areas at the end of March, I was having second thoughts about subjecting my near 55 year-old body to another trip on the R100RS. Then the opportunity of taking an R1100RT for an hour, a very comfortable riding position to say the least, the rest being history. I know very little about the R1100RT apart from a 50km (31 miles) ride home except that it’s eight years old with 77,000km (47,800 miles) on the odometer, in quite good condition, was accessorised with numerous options from new and should do me for years to come. I thought I’d drop in and say ‘howdy’ and hope to chat more when I know enough about the bike to chat. Waratah (aka John) Sydney, Australia Link to comment
Twisties Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Welcome to the board! Sounds like you have a great ride planned on your new bike! Enjoy. If you like, be sure to post a ride tale/ride report from your tour. We all love to see your country, and I'm sure you'll get a kick out of some of the others that will come up. There's not too much up there right now as most of us are in winter, but it gets pretty busy at times. Of course it's mostly U.S., but we get a fair bit from the EU, and even some from down under. Baby Cow recently told us of his journey to Tasmania. Jan Link to comment
Waratah Posted March 6, 2008 Author Share Posted March 6, 2008 Hi Jan, Thanks for the welcome and I certainly will post a report of my ride after I return. In the meantime you can have a look at what's planned on a website I've started, the relevant webpage being http://members.iinet.net.au/~jd343/web/murrayride08.htm All a bit tongue in cheek, typical Aussie humour... rarely serious. Waratah 2000 BMW R1100RT 1988 BMW R100RS 1980 Ducati Darmah SD900 Link to comment
BabyCow Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Welcome John. Thanks Jan. After reading of Miss Kitty I am thinking of a "little ride" myself.....Sydney to Perth then Darwin and home. Up until recently the Northern Territory had unlimited speed limits, but 130km/h / 80 mph is now the maximum . Would have been fun on the K1200S. Link to comment
Waratah Posted March 6, 2008 Author Share Posted March 6, 2008 Hi Baby Cow, thanks for the welcome. I have covered a fair bit of Australia and have enjoyed every kilometre. I'm yet to ride Perth to Darwin and haven't been north of Rockhampton. A ride I've done three times now is Adelaide to Darwin (including Ayres Rock/Kings Canyon on one occasion) and think everyone should take their kids up through The Centre. Are you familiar with the "Outback Highway" that was getting some press coverage about four years ago, a project that's been getting local, state and federal government support, a new highway development basically from Kalgoorlie to Cairns? It already exists in its basic form, the next part is to make it an all weather road (quality graded) but I don't think we'll see it sealed in our lifetimes. Waratah (aka John) Link to comment
BabyCow Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Have not heard about the Outback Highway. With an S I need tar. Have driven to Perth from Sydney but not ridden. Have just about driven everywhere except about 1000k's north of Broome to Darwin. Other that that have 4wd to Cape York twice from Sydney, Tazzie recently, Qld to Darwin, Darwin to Adelaide and now want to do it on the bike. Keep an eye on the ride tales forum. That is the best for us Aussies with no mountains. That road from Thredders to Khancoban is mighty fine. Rode that on the way to Tassie and then Phillip Island. I upgraded from the 1150RT to the K1200S. I liked the RT but love the S Enjoy Link to comment
Waratah Posted March 6, 2008 Author Share Posted March 6, 2008 The Outback Highway Project needs a bit of marketing and maybe it will get some support. Here's their website, not a lot at the moment but worth viewing: http://www.outback-hwy.org.au/ You've certainly seen a fair bit of Oz. I'll keep an eye on the ride tales forum and yes, have spent the odd short trip around the Snowy Mts region... geat bike roads. I'll chat some more later BabyCow, have to head out now. Link to comment
AZKomet Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Welcome!! Hope you find your lurking here as enjoyable as I do! Lots of great info and the people are eager to help. And Oz huh?? My #1 fav place on the planet!! Sydney is the shizzle! If I had my pick of any worldly city it would be??? Brisbane!!! Welcome and do visit us often! Link to comment
BFG Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 G'day Welcome. You've got a great bike there. I've ridden my RT coast to coast (US). I did a fair bit of dirtbike riding in S. QLD back in the 70's. Mostly cattle and sheep mustering along with some unforgettable outback adventures. Beautiful country. Enjoy your new ride! Link to comment
Linz Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Hey Waratah, Welcome to this Beemer owners paradise. This is a friendly and knowledgeable place to be. I'm just south of you in the northern suburbs of "The Gong". Plenty of great rides down here too. Cheers mate. Linz Link to comment
duson Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Hi John, Greetings from Henk in Adelaide. I bought a 1989 R1100RT with 50000 km on the clock. I owend a 1100 yamaha V-Star before.I think this bike is made for me.I like to ride long distance.In Februari I rode from Adelaide to Nambucca Heads in NSW a round trip of 4000 km (2430 mls) in 3.5 days Welcome and stay up-right. Henk Link to comment
Twisties Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 You guys down under are going to have to look up Sue and Robert Wood in Brisbane and start some kind of BMWST meet/ride tradition in Oz. I think there's getting to be enough of you! Bet you you'd even occasionally manage to lure one or two of us... what do you call us N. hemisphere types... down for the event. Sounds like you have some great riding! Jan Link to comment
Linz Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Hi Jan. We do have the BMW Safari every year and that's heaps of fun. The next one is in Queensland (for the road riders). I think the web address is www.bmwsafari.com Cheers, Linz Link to comment
Waratah Posted March 10, 2008 Author Share Posted March 10, 2008 Thank you everyone for the warm welcome, to those on the other side of the Pacific and those closer to home. Eventually I'd love to catch up with some of the locals, have a cuppa and chat about BMW motorcycling. I just clicked on the Sue & Robert Wood link and read about their ride; fantastic, I'd love to read more. Good idea Jan, an OZ BMWST meet. Yes, we do have some great riding in Australia, a country that's close to the size of the U.S. 48 states with maybe 7% the population! There are a lot of open spaces in the Australian Outback with very little crowding. An ideal location for visiting Northern Hemisphereans to tour. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.