MotorCycle Mania

Perth to Pinnacles Desert and Back

By Guest W.A. Reviewer:  Bruce Tuffin

The Pinnacles

Much of the area north and south of Perth is scrubby coastal plain. It’s quite flat and generally unspectacular. With one or two exceptions, the roads are pretty boring for motorcycles.

That’s not to say that there aren’t some quite outstanding destinations, however, and the Pinnacles Desert, in the Nambung National Park about 300 kilometres north of Perth, is one of these.

It’s possible to make a day trip out of it, but our decision was to overnight in Jurien Bay, then early the next morning head down the coast to Cervantes, on to the Pinnacles, then back home via Gingin.

The most obvious route would be to race up the Brand Highway and turn left onto the Jurien Road and bingo! The trouble is, the Brand Highway is not a road I feel comfortable on aboard a motorcycle. It carries a lot of traffic, and much of that is heavy haulage. When trucks, cars and motorcycles want to occupy the same patch of tarmac, it’s inevitable that the latter will come off second best. You can’t avoid it altogether (until the new coast road north from Lancelin is completed), but you can keep down the time you need to spend on it.

So it was that we headed north along Wanneroo Road. It gets busy too, but at least it’s mainly cars and other motorcycles … plus the usual grey nomads. The road is in good repair, but has had some horrendous accidents as a result of poor overtaking and speeding. Rather than upgrade the road, the WA government has responded by reducing the speed limit to 90 kim/h until well beyond Yanchep. This aggravates people who tend to put their foot down. As a result, keep your eye on your speedo, because the police love setting up mobile speed traps in the area.

Once into the 110 km/h zone, things are swifter. There’s not a lot to see, unless you turn off into one of the coastal towns like Seabird or Guilderton, just a few minutes off the main road, which now has had a name change and is Lancelin Road, because it goes to … ummm … Lancelin.

However, ten kilometres before Lancelin, you turn right onto the KW Road. There are one or two nice viewing spots along here, where you top a crest and the plain opens up in front  of you. You’ll run into a T-junction some five or six km further on. Take a right-hander into Sappers Road. The road meanders somewhat, but it’s a good road and generally light on traffic. After about 16 km, start watching for a small crossing over a stream. (If you want to stretch, you can pull off the road at the bridge.) Just a short distance on, take a left into Orange Springs Road. While this doesn’t exactly have any twisties, there are, at least, a few bends to keep you amused! Twenty minutes or so should see you at Brand Highway, where you turn left. Unless you need an urgent stop at Reagan’s Ford roadhouse, Cataby, just a few km further up the highway, is a good place to have a break. Well, truthfully, it’s about the only place to stop after Reagan’s Ford. It’s also slightly confusing if you don’t know about it because there’s really nothing there, except for two roadhouses, about three km apart! They’re both typical country roadhouses but I tend to prefer the southernmost one, the Ampol – the one you’ll see first. It has toilets, food, fuel and outdoor shaded seating and tables. The northernmost roadhouse, the BP, has another advantage, however: it has a hotel/motel attached.

Back on the highway, and in about 30 minutes you need to start looking for the turn-off to your left, onto Bibby Road. This is a good sealed road, with only light traffic. Do keep an eye out for the second largest wind farm in WA on your left – not that you could actually miss it!  There are 48 wind towers on the Emu Downs wind farm, and they appear to march over the horizon as you approach, like Martian fighting machines in War of the worlds.

The next turn is only 10 or so minutes down the road; another right-hander into Munbinea Road. This terminates at Jurien Road and you turn left towards the coast. In just a few short minutes, you’re pulling into Jurien (Bay).

Jurien was given its name in 1801 by the French Baudin expedition, which explored the coastline. A fishing town, it has become something of a “seachange” destination, attracting local retirees as well as those looking for a lifestyle change or a holiday resort. Consequently, it has a range of accommodation, from backpackers to camping grounds, from hotel-motel accommodation to B&B, as well as luxury home rental.

We stayed at the Jurien Bay hotel Motel in Padbury Street (behind the shopping centre off the main road). It’s a typical country pub with separate motel units clustered around a pool. Built, I would guess, in the 60s or 70s, the units were basic but clean and comfortable. When the manageress booked us in and saw we were on motorbikes, she gave us inside rooms and let us ride the bikes down the veranda and park them outside our room – literally – rather than have them visible from the road. That was much appreciated.

Jurien Bay Hotel

The dining room was a bit of a surprise. It featured good solid pub fare, plus a “set” menu which was, in effect, a tiny buffet from a bain marie. No-one had any complaints about the food. The pub had a live band that night which intruded on our sleep patterns only briefly.

Breakfast was included in the tariff and cooked to order and served in a bright, sunny room alongside the dining room. The food all up was reasonably priced and filling and well recommended – as is the hotel/motel itself.

Inside The Room

There’s plenty of petrol stations and as many shops as you could possibly need, including a brand new supermarket. Repairs are also available if, heaven forbid, you need them. While fuel was, obviously, more expensive than Perth, it wasn’t horrendous – and the people at the service station were lovely.

From there, it was an early morning ride, back out to the main road, continuing through town, and south to Cervantes. This is a fun piece of road to ride, especially early morning as we did it. Most maps show it as broken, not going through to Cervantes, but that’s not true. It’s new and sealed all the way. Cervantes itself is no different from most small coastal towns. It has sufficient amenities but not many of each! The roadhouse at the edge of town does a nice line in fast food and has a small “dining room” annexe to one side, where you can enjoy your meal and a coffee, as well as fuel and basic groceries.

The well-signposted road to the Pinnacles is just out of town. It’s a great road, with some good curves and twisty bits but, sadly, CALM has seen fit to keep speed levels down to the ridiculous.

Once at the Pinnacles, you’ll need to pay to get in, but it’s only a few dollars for a motorcycle. There is a desert loop road you can take, which guides you through the most accessible areas. There are lay-bys where you can pull over to take photos. The road is sand, but mostly hard-packed. My Yamaha Diversion on road tyres had no trouble negotiating it.

The pinnacles themselves (and there are thousands) range up to four metres high. They are limestone formations and look not unlike giant white ant mounds. The best time to photograph them is early morning or late afternoon, when the sun is long and the light warm. They are well worth seeing.

The Famous Pinnacles

Once back on Cervantes Road, follow it up to Munbinea Road (turn right), then to Bibby Road (turn left) and retrace your steps past the wind farm to the Brand Highway. This time, stay on the highway for an hour, which will bring you within striking distance of the Gingin turn-off to your left (Dewar Road). It’s well signposted.

Gingin is a delightful little town. As you roll through the main street, there’s a large park on the right, with picnic facilities and shade. But at its far edge is a white building with a car park out the front. This is Eliza’s on Granville – a heritage building with a café/restaurant well worth the stop for a pleasant meal. The food is wholesome, not expensive, and well presented. There are public toilets as well, not 50 metres away.

Eliza’s Of Course

Outside Eliza’s

Or, if you prefer, take the next turn right to the Gingin pub, which has been extensively renovated inside and features an interesting and reasonable menu.

The Gin Gin Pub

Retrace your steps to the Brand Highway (it’s only four km!), turn left and then immediately right onto the Gingin Brook Road. Not much to see, but it’s only about 16 km to the turn-off – left onto Military Road. (A quick aside: On this corner, on the right, is Willowbrook Farm Tearooms. This is well worth the day trip from Perth!)

On your left, about halfway down Military Road or a bit more, is  the Gravity Discovery Centre. For anyone with even a passing interest in the stars, the cosmos and the big questions of life, this is a must-see. It has telescopes, galleries, guides and is situated right next to a major observatory.

Just a few minutes later, you’re at Wanneroo Road. Turn left and you’re in Perth not much more than half an hour later.

There you have it. Total distance for two days is somewhere around 600 kilometres, which is just about right, especially if you’re carrying a pillion. It’s all tar and all good tar. You can find the route easily on Google maps and print yourself out a map and written route directions. It’s a weekend well spent.

Publishers Note: I reckon Bruce did a fantastic job of describing this great ride. If you’d like to see your favourite ride on the site, no problems! I can interview you over the phone and publish in audio podcast form, or you can write one, just like Bruce. I will do whatever I can to make it easy for you.

Cheers
Andy Ireland

Got a comment? Please leave one at the link below. Cheers!

You Either Agree Or You Don’t, Which Is It? Tell me, leave a comment.

I’ve ridden this road five or six times now over the last 8 years and I keep coming back to to my enjoyment factor and call it the best road I have ever ridden.

I haven’t ridden every road in Australia and am definitely low on knowledge of the QLD and WA stuff on offer. I have done a lot of touring in NSW, VIC and SA. Ridden such magnificent roads as the Oxley Hwy, Thunderbolts Way, The Putty Road, Reefton Spur, GOR (which I reckon is crap) numerous Alpine roads (both NSW and Vic) and of course many, many Adelaide Hills roads.

This doesn’t make me an expert, however it does give me something to base my vote on. I carefully considered my vote on these factors.

Surface Quality:

Curvery:

Ratio of Corners:

Visibility:

Hazards:

Traffic:

Overtaking Opportunities:

Scenery:

Pullouts:

And of course the ability to have a coffee at the end and rave enthusiastically to anyone who will listen about the riding epiphany I had just experienced.

I have put it all in this video, it’s about 8 minutes.

And the road? You’ll have to watch it to find out.

Did you agree? Please leave me your comment, at the bottom of this article..

This ride is a must for any motorcyclist on the eastern side of Melbourne.

On a recent trip away (Jan 2008) with mate Chris, Andy found some sensational roads and rides close to Melbourne. If you are ever in the area make it a point to fit this one in and visit the Thompson Dam and surrounding district.

Home to Victoria’s Power Staion Valley it’s unbelievable so much beautiful country can be so close to major industry. Once you leave the Walhalla lookout the power stations are behind you and the country is sensational.

Listen and watch as Andy shows off some of Victorias great motorcycling roads.

You can base yourself at Bairnsdale, Sale, Traralgon, Moe or any of the small country towns around this area. It’s also an easy day trip from Melbourne. Andy always says” those Melbourne bastards have it bloody good”.

Tell us what you think by leaving a comment about this ride or area.

Double click the arrow to play video. It may take a few moments to load and WILL go blank for a short time. Then sit back and enjoy, around 7 minutes.

While your watching, maybe cosider joining our newsletter? Simply join up in the box below.

Horsham to Casterton, a GREAT ride.

In this video ride review Andy explores some of Victoria’s back roads and finds a couple of Victoria’s motorcycling treasures along the way. Ever wondered where the World’s Tallest Redgum Tree was?

Or, how about climbing to the top of one of Australia’s best rock faces on your motorcycle?

This route through the Wimmera region is a cracker and highly recommended. In fact if you’ve never been there, a trip just to see the view from Mount Arapiles is worth organising. It blew my mind the first time I visited and it continues to amaze every motorcyclist I take there when they work out they can ride to the top and only walk 50 metres.

Double click on the arrow to play the video. give it a mo to start it won’t take long, depending on your connection speed. I hope you enjoy the review and photos. It’s about 6 minutes long.

Please leave a comment below about this video/ride review.

Australian Road Rider Gets David (Davo) Jones To Ride Across Australia and Back! In Under 6 Days!!!

How does 10,367 km in 5 days, 21 hours, and 17 minutes sound for a quick ride? Peter (The Bear) Thoeming asked David (Davo) Jones to take the Kawasaki 1400 GTR description of  ”Transcontinental Tourer” literally and be the first to cross Australia and return on this brand new bike to validate the term.

A couple of months ago I interviewed Davo and he let out the bag he had just completed this ride and was waiting for the publishing treadmill to roll around to getting it in print. It’s a great read in the Jan/Feb issue of Australian Road Rider where Davo tells all about the trip and the bike.

If long distance riding is your bag and this article gets you sweating to jump on your bike for days on end? Have a listen to Davo’s interview and get the tips and lowdown you’ll need to know make it real.

You can also learn more about Davo and Long Distance Motorcycle Riding. here 

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Well I’m back from the GP and what a hoot. Yes, I did go in style this year booking a V.I.P. Package, so let me answer your question: Was it worth it?

I’ll base my comments on having experienced the General Admission thing with the Super Bikes. Same deal just a smaller crowd.

Firstly, there are a number of V.I.P. Packages available with names like Full Throttle, Champions club, High Octane Club, and of course Silver, Glod and Platinum Pit Roof facilities. And they are all different!

I paid $770.00 for the Full Throttle Club and had a ball, let me share someof the meals we enjoyed. Try morning tea of thin and crispy wood fired pizzas of shaved ham, mozzarella, and baby spinach. Or a lunch of spinach and cheese tortellini in a creamy mushroom and herb sauce accompanied by bowls of freshly grated parmesan cheese. And sweets of double mud cake topped with a varhola ganache (I don’t know what that is either, but it tasted nice) and served with King Island double cream?

And I gotta say there were three offerings for most courses so what I described only touches the surface.

Sounds like a food fair! I know I was there for racing but a man’s gotta eat. And when I got thirsty?

The choice was bottled white, red and bubbly wines (nice ones too).

Crown Lager, Carlton Draught, Cascade Premium Light beers, 7 different soft drinks and tea and coffer aplenty.

Waiting staff were prolific and friendly and there was never a shortage of ANYTHING.

In this podcast I cover the tent layout, outside viewing area, food, drinks, ease of getting around and one thing I forgot to mention our own exclusive and private toilets for the club. (big point).

Also I ask some Grand Prix veterans who have experienced ALL the V.I.P. Clubs and which one they think is best.

This shot shows the V.I.P. tent pretty empty.

Here’s me and my mate Garry at the reserved table. Even with plenty of people there was always plenty of room.

 This is turn 12 and the view from the tent. They screw around this corner at 200kph!

The superscreen out the front of the tent. They are hitting over 200 kph by now. You can see the High Octane Club tent in the background and Lukey Heights above them.

Here’s a example of the crowd (not during the main race, it was more jam packed) in the general admission next to us.

This is our outside viewing area to contrast with the photo above. And we get drink service wait staff in here! And our own toilets at the back of the tent! YES, the toilets are a big deal, trust me!

Let me know your Phillip Island Grand Prix experience and hit the comment button below.

Simply hit the audio button to play or you can download to your own computer.

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How To Cover Long Distances On your Motorcycle Around Australia.

In this podcast Andy interviews David “Davo” Jones from southern Queensland who has ridden and continues to ride phenomenal distances by motorcycle.

If you’ve ever had a hankering, like I have to do some big days on the bike? You will love this interview. Davo is a very personable bloke who tells it like it is without a big head, and simple matter of fact honesty. You see, all the rides Davo talks about are documented and ratified and that means proven!

How does 1600k’s in 24 hours sound? I know someone else who has done that, big deal, you say?

Then try 2464 k’s in 23 hours 21 minutes

or 4430 k’s in 45 hours 22minutes

or 2724 k’s in 23 hours that’s Darwin to Port Augusta, check it out on a map!

or 6370 k’s in 3 days 22.5 hours

or how about this one! 10,274 k’s in 5 days 21 hours and 17 minutes from Byron Bay in N.S.W to Denham in W.A. and back.

And before you label Dave as irresponsible, reckless and a speeder then you better listen in because Davo tells you how he does it solely with safety and speed limits in mind. In fact he can’t get his ride ratified if the average speed exceeds the posted speed limit.

I was in awe during this interview, Davo knows his stuff and can certainly teach the rest of us a few things, even if it’s as simple as get your bum on your bike more often.

Davo covers, trip planning, tiredness and fatigue, bike communication, lights and spotlights, trip preparation and much much more. I’m sure like me you will be enthralled by Davo’s accounts of his transcontintal exploits across this wonderful country, Australia.

To play the audio simply click the button below.

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Davo also runs three websites too, and you can check them out here.

Iron Butt Riding

Long Distance Riding Australia

Kawasaki GTR Club

C’mon! why not review your Motorcycle, Motorbike accessory, your favourite ride or one recently ridden? Simply
send an email to andy@motorcyclemania.com.au with your best contact phone number and a brief outline of the review you’d like to do and I’ll phone you. We’ll set up a time to talk, I’ll interview you and record the phone call (unless you live close by, then I’ll visit). Then publish it on this site.
EASY, and you’ll be famous! Just like Davo.

Or leave a comment by clicking the “leave a response” or “comment” link at the bottom of this podcast!

Flinders Ranges and Outback “Postie Posse” 2nd November to 5th November 2007

My mate Greg Kipling (Kippo) loves his dirt bike riding and has combined his excellent knowledge of the local “outback” roads to create a Postie Bike Posse over 4 days covering some sensational outback roads and raising money for the “Childhood Cancer Association” to boot.

Day One: Heads out from Port Augusta to Wilpena Pound and Blinman (overnight)

Day Two: Blinman to Arkaroola to Leigh Creek then Lyndhurst (overnight)

Day Three: Lyndhurst to Farina then Andamooka and on to Woomera (overnight)

Day Four: Woomera to Port Augusta for lunch and farewells.

This looks like and will be an absolute cracker of a weekend. Kippo is a great organiser and has put a lot of thought into this run. You will cover some sensational Flinders Ranges roads and experience some “real” outback stuff as well.

The run is aimed at getting as much dirt road riding as possible and will be a mix of single track, public dirt roads and a bit of bitumen.

Kippo has put together an information pack with everything you will need to know and you can download that here:
Postie Bike Posse Info Pack

He tells you how to buy your Postie Bike, set it up and all about the run, including your entry form.

I will grab Kippo and do a series of podcasts explaining EVERYTHING you will need to know to tackle this adventure trip.

Please leave a response or comment below.

Here’s my take on the motorycle journey between Port Augusta and Alice Springs.

I’ve done this route from Port Augusta to Alice Springs a few times now, mostly by bike and a couple of times by car. The route is up the Stuart Highway and goes through these towns: Watch the video for a full rundown on the trip. It is a bit bluury but follow on and you will get it all.

Port Augusta:  Motorcycle Friendly Accomodation

Pimba/Woomera

Glendambo

Coober Pedy

Cadney Park

Marla

Erldunda

Stuarts Well

Alice Springs.

In the video I talk about distances, highlights, things to watch out for and where I usually stay. If your thinking about travelling up this way and haven’t been before I reckon you will get a bit of local knowledge to make your trip planning a bit easier.

If I’ve missed anything or you’d like to know more of something hit the comment button below and give me your comment. Please tell me if you like it?

Simply start the video by hitting the play button. Give it a minute or two to load. The screen will go blank at first. The video is about 13 minutes long. Enjoy.
C’mon! why not review your Motorcycle, Motorbike accessory, your favourite ride or one recently ridden? Simply
send an email to andy@motorcyclemania.com.au with your best contact phone number and a brief outline of the
review you’d like to do and I’ll phone you. We’ll set up a time to talk, I’ll interview you and record the
phone call (unless you live close by, then I’ll visit). Then publish it on this site.
EASY, and you’ll be famous!

Or leave a comment by clicking the “leave a response” link at the bottom of this podcast!

These People Have Helped Me Book My Phillip Island Grand Prix Trip, And Been Great!

I tried the usual “get a group together” trick and hit all the usual snags. My wife won’t let me, I can’t afford it, yeah I’ll be there for sure (but no money up front) and I persisted with this for one day before I spat the dummy and yelled, I’ll go myself!

That way I know who will turn up at departure time and it’s not like I’ll be the only bike on the road! From past experience It’s gonna be a cracker riding with thousands of other motorcyclists heading to Phillip Island. In one way there’s a heap of new best friends I haven’t met yet waiting for fate to hook us up. At least we’ll all have a common interest!

I camped at the Superbikes at Phillip Island once and what an experience. If I was younger, able to tolerate copious amounts of alcohol, sleep through burnouts metres from my tent and exist on almost no sleep for three or four days then I’d do it again. It was an absolute hoot, but I’m older and supposedly wiser and obviously softer now.

Upmarket was the way to go, or that’s what I’m thinking. General admission was good before but I missed the television action around the track and now I’m softer (apparently) a few luxuries wouldn’t hurt.

I contacted the booking office and spoke to Erin Gilbert. She was very helpful. After getting all the information and making a tentative booking for five and hitting all the hurdles organising a group of motorcyclists offers, I rang back to cancel. We had a few emails going and had a laugh about the view I held of my mates right then.

Nothing seemed to faze Erin or the other girls I spoke to during my booking process. I went for the corporate ticket on turn 12. Exactly where I remember Anthony Gobert two wheel sliding his Kawasaki before slamming a mono up the straight to win on both days of the Supers.

Erin hooked me up in a resort with most meals supplied, entertainment, limo tranmsfers to and from the track, how decadent! So I’m pumped and can’t wait to try the luxury version of Phillip Island.

You can talk to Erin and the crew on 1300737 882 or visit the website above. Mention my name and who knows they might even buy me a beer? Then I’ll buy you one!

Cheers and catch you at the Island to see Casey Stoner kick butt!