Aussie Hodgo & his 950SE does USA Alaska Canada & anywhere else he can find.

Well (FMD)

Its been a bloody long while in the planning but its finally happening after a couple of small false starts.

Plan.. What fucking plan.. There is none.
Heres me & Mickey Mouse.


Maybe a rough plan that includes ride north from LA & then see what the gold old US of A has to offer. Plus I will want to catch up with a couple of ex military mates while im at it.

So pulled the pin at work. Been doing stuff all since Nov. So its now or never. After a long stint in Local Government IT and Defence i reckon I earn t a break.

The adventure started when I drove to Sydney to get my US Visa for 6 months. Now that's a 13 hour drive from Brisbane my home town.

An excellent mate on here ADV rider aspad (Peter) was most generous to put me up for the night whilst I stopped over in SYD. I would like to thank him personally and have extended the same offer when he is in QLD next. Great bloke (G'day Peter). Much talk was had about motorbikes maps & equipment over the course of the night. I look forward to him retiring and getting amongst it.

To Digga1111 thanks Rick for putting up with my Plant Operator Skills & driving your good old Mack R model. Really appreciated the extra cash & the challenge of earthmoving.

Chop Chop. Mate heal well im sure you will be up and at em in no time & blasting away on that 950 that some dumb shit that's addicted to Hillbilly Heroin sold ya. Thanks for all the coffee and support over the few years I have known ya.

To Eddywoodgo . Sorry I couldnt make your fair well for you and Susan & I hope we catch up along the trails again soon.
Plus thanks for the shipping tip too.

All the boys that organised & made it out to the 3rd Maidenwell ride. Friggin awesome to see so many great blokes.

Younggun640 Ryan.. Thanks for helping out & looking after my house cat & dog while im away. Top bloke.

Transport Logistics.

What a root around. Took my bike & got a Dangerous Good Certificate for it. & was releived of a couple of hundred poo tickets for it. I used to do DG packing when I was in the army and it is not that hard. Loading aircraft prior to jumping out of the suckers. Still can't work out why they gouge you for so much.

Good old flying Kangaroo.. well they sort of helped but unless you know how to calculate a volumetric weight they will bend you over & pork you with it. So after a couple of days stuffing around I got put on to cargotransport.com.au by ed.

Cargotransport.com.au Steve me old mate sorted things out in a flash. Dropped the bike off today & its in LAX on 1 June. No stuffing around. I couldnt recommend them enough. Nothing was too hard. Even had a couple of lads with their phones taking photos of the SE while it sat grumpily in its pallet. If anyone wants specifics flick me a PM. Got quotes from other jokers but it seems all they want to do is gouge you and or not be bothered to get back to you. Got me stuffed how most of these monkeys stay in business.

Now a sight to see was me by myself trying to load the 950 onto the back of the trailer after I had sat a steel motorcycle pallet on to the trailer that I got from me old mate Sam at Brisbane MC @ Caboolture.

Blocked off half the street & got a run up getting it on to the trailer. Then tied it down. Man that things is heavy. It weights 200kgs with a about a litre of fuel in it. Much more than I thought. So none of this shit about spending $1100 for some clown to make you a special crate for your beast. All you need is a steel bike pallet to tie it down on. Mine was a CRF250 Jobbie. No sides wood or crap.

Had to do a fair bit of prep work on the bike to get things sorted. I replaced the floating discs with solid changed the oil & cleaned her down spotless.

Heres some pics of the handy work. Looks micky mouse.

Plus me little mate wondering what the hell is going on. Shes sitting under my feet as I type this.

So I head off tomorrow for LAX.

SO ....... Whos in for this trip with me. ?

I'm in watching. Safe travels. I'm envy of you to be riding over there.


.

Sounds good. Im in.

Going to the BP for some pie but I will be back for more.

how was the pie ?

Well I'm sitting here at BNE international airport feeling very excited.

Just stuffed myself full off omelette for breaky & relaxing & having a nice brew.

Plus having a good old perve on all the talent.

Direct flight with sunlight all day. Carrying helmet on board & no issues at all.

Lax here I come

Great hear you are heading there Hodgo - safe enjoyable journey son ..

thanks chief it should be a Bonniville Ball Tearer.

Have a hoot hodgo will be watching your journey .... Oh and pay attention at the "Gas" pumps NO DIESEL !!!!

Fantastic Hodgo! Have a ball mate.

Excellent Hodgo... we will be stalking ya from down here somewhere mate

Hi, Good to see you are now on the road so I wish you great travels and I will be watching this thread when I have t'internet !! I hope to be back in the States heading South in early July so our paths may cross to swap tales and the odd beer or two.
Happy days, mate !!

Good one Hodgo, have a ball mate. I'll be watching your ride unfold. My flight is the 15/10.
Interested to hear how u go clearing bike through US customs.
All ears.
Susie and I head off on Ozzie leg on tuesday

.

What are you plans once in LA, how are you picking up the bike etc from LAX?

I'm done planning shit. Just gunna suck it n see.

Bike arrives tomorrow. Bike be at mercury air cargo.

So I rented a neeesan cage & headed straight for Mickey D's .

Flight was good but custom bloke was a bit suss when I didn't put & address down on their arrival forms. But all went well after a bit of a yarn.

This wrong side of the road in a cage is weird. But I can't wait to get the SE out n about.

So so far so good.

Best thing to do mate, every time we make plans Murphy piles on for a ride.

No rules .... no rules to stick to or break and shit goes much better eh

Nutha good suggestion ... go get lost then find your way out ... great fun and in the US there is always a great place with huge mofo steak at the end .

Hey!

Come visit me in Idaho Falls. I speak Australian and live with an SE.
Actually I work with an Aussie too.
Andi will vouch for me and the local area.
Ever been to Yellowstone National Park? You should.

Plus you get to sign the shower curtain!

Send a PM if interested.
Q~

Looking forward to see what an Aussie thinks of our side of the planet. As mentioned before......Yellowstone MUST be on the schedule. It's our jewel in the crown.

Don't do it Hodgo it is not safe

You will have to enjoy good fud



Mindless drinking games wearing funny hats



and sign the curtain



...on top of that you won't wonna leave

Q~ .... good times mate!