Great Ocean Road - Newbie Initiation

SA to Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road
April 2011

I’ve been caned by the missus for a while for going dirt bike riding without her, so I went out and bought something with rear pegs. Happened to be a near new 2010 WeeStrom. Now I can take her along. Yes Trev, I know that's a big mistake but I'm a slow learner.

Made an extension rack to hold a tail bag, added a tank bag and swapped one headlight globe for my 24 Hour Reliability Trial weapon. The weather looked grim so I tossed on some handlebar muffs, filled it with fuel and we took off. It is a Suzuki after all so I presumed it wouldn’t need pampering.

We left Gawler around 3pm Thursday, heading for Kaniva. We got dumped with rain just before Mount Pleasant so pulled up at the Mount Pleasant pub and donned some extra waterproofs.



Off again only to be hammered by crosswinds and drizzle all the way to Keith. Stopped at dusk and had tea. Hit the road again around 7 pm in the dark. The headlights were sensational and we cruised into Kaniva for an overnight stop.

The rain and wind continued when we left Kaniva the next day and it stayed that way pretty much all the way to Melbourne. This was turning out to be a tough gig for a first ride.:huh



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After a day and a bit in Melbourne with friends we headed for the Great Ocean Road on Sunday. Being Easter the traffic was horrific. Coming into Anglesea, traffic had come to a standstill and was lined up for several km’s outside of town. Fortunately we could slip down the side of the traffic and missed what would have been a very long delay.

Traffic was still extremely heavy making the riding rather dull all the way to Lorne where we stopped for lunch. Lorne is a beautiful spot and we had a great feed at a little riverside café.



Back on the road and crawled all the way to Apollo Bay thanks to an idiot driver that didn’t get what a “turnout lane” was. Here’s a tip, “don’t do the Great Ocean Road at Easter if you want to actually enjoy the ride”.

Hit the road early after a night in Apollo Bay. The weather was great and we missed most of the traffic. The road was much more open and quite a bit of fun as it weaved in and out of rainforest and spectacular coast lines.



We had a look at some of the sights along the way and had a great wharf side lunch at Port Fairy. This was to be our longest day and we pushed on through Mt Gambier to Robe.

On Tuesday, having learnt from the day before we again got an early start and come across very little traffic. We had a great breakfast in Salt Creek and then pushed on home, arriving about lunch time.



1800 k’s and sore butts were to be expected. The Strom was smooth, nicely responsive and it didn’t miss a beat.

Now that the practise run is over the next trip is in the planning but this time we’ll be headed north, well away from traffic and crowds.


IGTBY

Good trip & RR, it's great to get out on the bike with the wife.

Cheers Terry

I have heard GOR is not that pleasant with all the traffic. Great RR.

Nice Going Terry & congrats on the new steed.
We did a similar thing a few years back but on 4 wheels and a 6yr old in tow.
Always thought what a great trip it would be on a bike.
After seeing (and a sit on) Raf's bike (990 Adventure) at the Classic a few weeks back, I think we may not have that long to wait.......yes, I guess I'm orange to the core!
Cheers,
Con.

Good read, thanks for posting .

Good report and pics.

Thanks for the post.

I did the GOR as part of a three state ride two weeks after I bought my new White Wee Strom back in 09.

Unfortunately it was done from the west end heading east as my loop was anti clockwise from Sydney to Adelaide then Melbourne and back to Sydney.

The scenery and getting in and out of all the look out points on the coast side is far better done from the Melbourne end and heading for the west.

Next time I'm heading westward on that road, maybe we will pass each other along the way

Now considering that the author's forum nickname is It'sGotToBeYellow (he's a bit of a Suzuki fan), he currently rides a Yammie 250 in the dirt and a black VStrom on the road - what happened to YELLOW???

I'm guessing that Michelle is going to love her new position sitting behind you and lots of new adventures will be undertaken. Get rid of those bloody tyres and sort it out so you can rde with your mate on his new Tenere...Ride Reports for all, coming up!

Trev,
Didn't you notice the new YELLOW helmet.

I'm a bit surprised Michelle has taken to the bike riding thing given my habit of crashing repeatedly.

Tyres are fine on dirt. Got us up Pine Hut ok. Got to wear them out before I can justify the $500 for new ones.

Hi Terry,
Yeah it was a good trip but got sick of geting poked in the ribs every time I ran over the speed limit.

IGTBY

Lesley likes a ride on the back of the triumph but I get the same result when going a little quick.
Lucky I was solo yesterday as the back stepped out @ 100kph on a sweeper, found out later another guy on the same ride had the same thing happen on the same bend.

Still looking at getting either a DL650 (good long distance dirt rides) or a CB400 (the wife could ride the 400 & a great little road bike)

The DL is pretty high & I'm short 5'6" & the bike feels heavy, how do you find it ?

Cheers Terry

I'm 5'10" but after a WR250F the DL is bulky. It's ok while your on your own but difficult with the wife and gear on board but I'm a novice so expect to get used to it. I can get both feet flat on the ground.

IGTBY

I also ride a Triumph Scrambler which is around 208kg dry...that could be understated cause it feels heavy & much worse when 2up, ok when moving...
There is a guy over on the Ulysses site that had a DL650 & went to a Triumph & loves it.
Anyhow must go & have a sit on both again & get a feel for them....


Cheers Terry

Looks like a DL650 will be on the cards once I get my money together, wife said don't buy a bike for her get what I want..might be a few ADVENTURE rides coming up later in the year.

Cheers Terry