Off to Tasmania

[Damfino_imp]

Finished packing the old girl today. Some new tyres and a service and we are ready to go. Riding with a mate on his GS Suzuki and will spend a couple of days at the Broadford rally in Victoria before boarding the Spirit of Tasmania to Devonport. The weather looks to be fairly ordinary so I suspect a wet butt may be on the cards in the next few days. I will try to post up some pics during or after the trip.
Estimated distance for the return trip using backroads is about 5500km.
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Please....No wet butt pics.

[Tezza_imp]

Have fun Tezza- ride safe


Is that what the Tasmanian Devil in the cartoons was...a Wombat?

I remember the Hodaka Combat Wombat

No..A wombat is like a ground dwelling koala on steroids. Imagine a section of tree trunk 2 foot long and about a foot or so in diameter placed on the road. Try running over that!

[Pterodactyl_imp]

Have fun Tezza- ride safe


Is that what the Tasmanian Devil in the cartoons was...a Wombat?

I remember the Hodaka Combat Wombat

No..A wombat is like a ground dwelling koala on steroids. Imagine a section of tree trunk 2 foot long and about a foot or so in diameter placed on the road. Try running over that!

No..A wombat is like a ground dwelling koala on steroids. Imagine a section of tree trunk 2 foot long and about a foot or so in diameter placed on the road. Try running over that!
Just to build on that. Mate, a Wombat, natures answer to a bulldozer. A dense muscular form that looks like a small thick tree log has grown four stumpy legs and has been fur upholstered. They are approximately one meter in length when fully grown and weigh in at roughly 35 kilos. They also have a think protective shield of cartilage that they turn on attackers that is almost impervious to harm.
I’m reliably told colliding with a wombat is like crashing into a tree stump. A tree stump with a butt shield! In themselves they pose no huge risk, they are vegetarian and nocturnal of habit. They like to graze on the fresh grass shoots by the road. Sometimes they take a fancy to the grass on the other side of the road. They are not easy to see, particularly on a rainy evening or early morning. Hit one and you will become, at least, part of the scenery.


Wombats lead those with good intentions to put up signs like this:

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Tezza, enjoy the ride. Cheers mate.

[Cormanus]

Ferret, to add a bit more, the Tasmanian Devil that so plagued Bugs Bunny lives only on the island of Tasmania. It's an aggressive little bugger, but unfortunately is at risk these days. Some nasty disease that rots their faces away has got itself into the population. There's a picture here http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co...ranna.jpg.

They bite hard, but don't spin round at a great rate and pass through trees.

[Aussie_imp]

Happy riding Tezza. Even a wet day on the bike is better than a dry day in an office! Love Tassie, one of my favourite holidays was a 12 day drive there. I would happily live there if circumstances dictated. Not sure if you've been before but hope you make it to Cradle Mt Nat Park.

[Tezza_imp]

Well, got back from Tassie a couple of weeks ago. Weather was crap and we only had a few days of sunshine. Unfortunately even the sunny days left the roads wet due to the cold. Ended up going around the island from east to west. Chris's GS850 had a starter clutch failure shortly after we left Brisbane so we had to bump start it until we got back to Melbourne and got it fixed. Covered 6800 kms and the CB only had a top up of 200ml of oil when I got home. Roads were superb and hardly any traffic. I would do it again but earlier in the year..probably Dec or Jan.
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Bay of fires on East coast.
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Bicheno motorcycle museum.
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Above Queenstown.
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Warming up at Strahan in -4degrees.
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Nearly home...view to Byron bay most easterly point in Australia.

[Cormanus]

Great photos, Tezza. I grew up in Tasmania, so they made me homesick.

They call that road running down into Queenstown 'the thousand bends'.

[Tezza_imp]

The road to Queenstown reminded me of those roads in Italy with the never ending bends. I never seen so much road kill. Chris kept "accidentally" running over them and covering my visor in pink bits. Also found an awesome bit of road heading towards Tumut and managed to see a dollar ninety on the speedo. Would have been an instant go to jail if the blue meanies had caught me.
Picked up this sticker from a club member at the Broadford festival. Something for you to Google.
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[Cormanus]

Looks like you don't have the limiter. Pity about the weather; it's all over the place this year. Even here. Sounds like the bike went well.

Tassie's famous for its road kill. I'm sure there's a reason, but I don't know what it is. Possibly that there's less traffic and more isolated roads.

[MrTim_imp]

Loved the photos Tezza, like Cormanus I'm a Tassie boy and got a tad homesick looking at them. Hopefully I'll be able to head down there maybe in late June/early July.

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