when are these bikes actually out of gas??

[curlyjoe]

Chardonnay? Bless my button up boots, you're jibes are just too, too cruel. You spare no one. You know what I think of "Chardy sippers"! That aside, last night, over an earthy full bodied Hunter Shiraz, I got to cogitating this matter of tank size, or lack thereof. The '10 model, "the original and best"* has a 14.6 litre tank, the '13 model followed this standard.

A previous poster may have been on the money when he opined that this fuel capacity is more than sufficient for the more densely populated parts of our planet but a little bijou when considering the vast and sparse open spaces of the continent, or island if you wish, that make up a good proportion of the wide brown land of OZ. These sweeping plains, devoid of petrol stations or, believe it or not, even 7-Elevens, are often referred to as "The GAFA". Forum Decorum prevents me expanding on that. In fact I recall that when returning from our Mildura ride we rejected a route via Broken Hill due to the possibility of fuel starvation short of our destination. It should be noted by intrepid adventurers unfamiliar with OZ , Rotor for example, that, in remote areas, if prudent precautions are not in place then fuel starvation will almost certainly be followed by bodily starvation. Some tourists, and the occasional foolhardy local, have found this out. The hard way.

However I digress, let's return from reminiscence to regarding the ideal tank size and how to determine that ideal size. And to that end, I recommend that we set up an interdepartmental committee with fairly broad terms of reference so that at the end of the day we'll be in the position to think through the various implications and arrive at a decision based on long-term considerations rather than rush prematurely into precipitate and possibly ill-conceived action which might well have unforeseen repercussions. I think I know just the man to oversee this process.

Cheers mate.

*Hence forth referred to as the O and B

I found a couple of stories about motorcycling in the GAFA. The [url=http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/riding-1800-miles-australian-outback?image=0]first one seems to be the right way to do it if you are so inclined. The [url=http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/blogs/dreamtime-australian-outback-burned-under]second is an american going solo. Insane, IMHO.