Mornington Station Holiday August 2000
Section One - Syd to Alice Springs - a transport stage
Sat
I had planed to leave on Friday 28/7/00 but snow and ice closed the roads over the blue mountains so I delayed leaving by one day to leave on Saturday 29/7/00 putting me a day behind schedule, even so there was snow besides the road from Bell to Bathurst, with sand on some parts of the road for the ice. But it was colder from Bathurst till Orange. I need to make this up to catch Greg in Alice so I took the tar to make time,. I passed the "doggy brothers" (Peter & Paul) in Orange, making Cobar 4.30 pm with nothing until Wilcannia, some distance away, I stop.
Sun
The next morning my side stand pivot bolt brakes as I loaded the bike up. I rode on to a petrol station that did breakfast, and the doggy brothers arrived, they have arrived in Cobar that night after sunset and staid in the first pub. As they were travelling to the same route and timetable today as myself I though I'd travel with them. They want to have lunch at Yunta so I try to get there for lunch, but it is too far so it's a late lunch. They arrive later.. We set off together but the travel is slower than I'd like looking at the sun and it's setting. Stopping at the some ruins of an old mining settlement they take some photos and look around... And find that I'm missing a frame mount bolt. I replace it with their assistance. We ride on ... the sun sinks and finally sets .. I'm for camping in the bush but they want to push on ..OK. We travel on slowly into the dark.
We find French couple in a 4WD have a flat tire, they have a spare tire but no jack. We go on and inform the range at Barcoona. He goes out with a jack and helps them. When he gets back he informs Arkaroola, they should make sure that these people arrive... We have a diner courtesy of a person leaving Arkaroola to go on to another job.
Mon
The next day I leave, but the doggy brothers stay. Road is rugged over range from Balcoona to Copley as usual. The Aborigine community is one of the best in OZ, a real show piece. At Copley I ring Race Motorcycles (Alice Springs) to get a new pivot bolt and a gear box shift lever seal that is leaking. I tell them I should be there Wednesday day and don't know where I will be staying at this stage, give them the credit card number to show my willingness to pay. I check Maree for other motor cyclists, thinking I might see PJ or Beatle or some others on their way to the boarder run, but no luck. Apparently there was a group in the camping ground last night but they have gone on. Lake Ayre looks good with water in it. Most of the time it is just salt. The road is good to William Creek so I arrive at 3 pm. I have a beer and think that I have enough time to get to Oodnadatta so ride off, but 5 kms down the road is a turn off to with leads me out to Cooper Peady (the tar) and will give me a quicker trip, so I take it. Cooper Peady may be a hole but Oodnadatta has even less. I spend a peace full night at Rlecks
Tues
The next day it is a boring run up the tar. Except at Marla where bad service is very evident. I go into the fast food bit, and wait while 2 people talk, one is a customer the other has some thing to do with the fast food outlet. OK? An older gent comes in and waits at the coffee/tea area. Then four women come in , one goes around me to the chip area. Now someone comes in to serve, starts with the older gent, then the chip women. I leave, I can eat my cold food one the bike while this 'service' goes on. Having eaten I go to purchase petrol, fill up go in to pay. There is a queue so I join it. More people join behind me. Another gent comes in and goes to another counter. The operator serves one more person from the queue then serves the gent that has just come in! Not a good customer relationship to develop but there is little competition out here. Looking back at it, the reduction in my spending is just due to their lack of service. At Alice springs I wash the bike at one of the car lovers places Then I go to Sturt Caravan Park and get a camping spot. When I go in I see two bmw g/s and a kawa KLX 650. Put up my ten close then have a look, one G/S has my clubs sticker on it and I know I should know this bike. Then in walks Rob Pop, Kenny Hamilton whom I have known over 10 years. They introduce me to Kevin Barber who is riding the other G/S while kenny has changed from his bms to the Kawa.
Wed
Next day I go to see about the parts, not in yet but I get a recommendation for the welder. So I go and see him and leave the side stand and crash bar with him for repair. Then I meet Rob Milton who tells me about Greg's oil problem. Bad luck Greg. (This turns out to be just 2 missing/loose bolts ..after he has it shipped from Broken Hill to Sydney. Really bad karma Greg!) I fill Rob in on my doings. I go back to the campsite and meet Kevin who is about to go out to the airport. I tag along, but he goes a back route signposted at 50... he is doing more like 80! At the airport turnoff we stop and look at some of the 40+ chamberlain tractors going across Australia. They have done the gunnbarrel hwy and now split up some going on via the plenty others via Birdsville or Innamincka tracks depending on how they go. We head back to town to see if we can get onto a hill alongside heavy tree gap, no go as its all locked gates. The others all decide to go out to some motorcyclists grave, I go back to town and do some shopping. Then I get my repaired crash bar and sidestand, then the bmw bits, then I get some nuts and bolts. The side stand goes back together with the nuts and bolts rather than the bmw stuff, I think the nuts and bolt are better until I see the clearances - tight! But I leave that, it works! I look at the gear shift lever leak. Removing the gear shift lever and its bits (with the bike lent to the right so the oil is low on the left) I find that there is NO seal fitted where there should BE! Putting the new seal in and bolting it all back together should solve the problem.
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File dated 1 November 2000
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The next morning my side stand pivot bolt brakes as I loaded the bike up. I rode on to a petrol station that did breakfast, and the doggy brothers arrived, they have arrived in Cobar that night after sunset and staid in the first pub. As they were travelling to the same route and timetable today as myself I though I'd travel with them. They want to have lunch at Yunta so I try to get there for lunch, but it is too far so it's a late lunch. They arrive later.. We set off together but the travel is slower than I'd like looking at the sun and it's setting. Stopping at the some ruins of an old mining settlement they take some photos and look around... And find that I'm missing a frame mount bolt. I replace it with their assistance. We ride on ... the sun sinks and finally sets .. I'm for camping in the bush but they want to push on ..OK. We travel on slowly into the dark.
We find French couple in a 4WD have a flat tire, they have a spare tire but no jack. We go on and inform the range at Barcoona. He goes out with a jack and helps them. When he gets back he informs Arkaroola, they should make sure that these people arrive... We have a diner courtesy of a person leaving Arkaroola to go on to another job.
