Birdsville Loop-Australia-on a Honda CB500X(Adventure)

More from John...

Day 13: An early morning tyre dilemma for Wayne and his DR650 meant we had to re-use the Michelin T63 rear he rode in with flat last night, as no replacement could ge found, so we made a liner from an old tube then fitted a new one and off we went, only 280km to White Cliffs today.



As Wayne is now suffering from IPS(imagined puncture syndrome) he looked down at his rear wheel whilst riding along at 80/hr, veered off the road and only realised when he was the left side of the road sign, heading for the creek!! Luckily, he just got back on the tar before the drop into the creek!

Once our blood pressure dropped we carried on, and after about an hour of 50/50 tar and track, we passed by Malparinka, an old village set by a wooded riverbed on our right, very scenic. Thereafter, the countryside turns less desert, and more green, with plenty of cattle about.

The tracks were hard-pack clay, very smooth and quick, but you had to be on the look out for hardened ruts left over from last weeks rain, as if you dropped into one it could whip the bars out of your hands.

A lunch stop, more tinned tuna, and we had a good run into White Cliffs, apart from a couple of sudden dips in the track with sharp faces.

The Honda was really in its element today in the mix of sealed and unsealed roads, and again, used about 25% less fuel than the other bikes, and also is making the rear Conti TKC last longer than the other larger capacity bikes.

We are staying at an underground hotel in White Cliffs, a bit like a James Bond film set, maybe it could be the new Rally-Raid Products top secret research bunker!!



The weather is turning a bit colder, and the wind has picked up, so tomorrow's 400km to Cobar, on our last dirt of the trip, could be chilly.

Jx

Great RR & write up. Looking forward to a final review of the CB5XRR

Just a quick update - I spoke with John earlier today and the guys made it safely back to Sydney...


photo. John and Dave at the end!

Full and final report to follow soon I'm sure...

In the meantime, they are just going through the video footage now... the finished film is going to be epic!





More soon!

Jenny xx

A sneak preview of some of the video footage:



Jx

How cool is that! Looking forward to seeing the film.

Looking forward to the video coming out. Great use of the drones to get ariel shots too.

Oh...that's going to be good!

Official trailer for the movie here!



See the CB500X doing the business at 1.29, and John dancing at 0.52 - yikes!

Jx

Love the trailer!

Thanks for the warning.

In for more

Update from John about the final run back to Sydney...

Day 14: A frosty dawn meant a change of plan for out last leg back to Sydney, as going via Bathurst and Orange, which take you over 1,000 metres, and the forecast was -4C, so we decided to go on a lower altitude, which was further north and an extra 80km, but we decided it would be the better option.

Philippe, our ex-pat Belgian KTM 690 rider needed to be back home quickly, so him and Ted(with the truck) took the colder option over the mountain road, and we had our last coffee together in Dubbo before going our separate ways.

We took a left turn off the main highway and then spent a great couple of hours on some really good twisty roads, in lush countryside, which reminded me very much of South-west England.

We had to make a quick tea and pie stop in Meriwa, as the cold was beginning to set in, before heading off into more dramatic landscape, rolling hills and rough grassland with lots of cattle, very much like the Scottish lowlands, these long flowing bends suited the Honda to a tee, and it was effortless just gliding through them with the twin cylinder motor spinning away, indeed, sitting between 110 and 130km/hr was perfect, and as the Honda had the most tyre left, due to its relative lack of power compared to the bigger bikes, it was fun to slide up behind them into the corners and drift by.

We stopped by the massive open-cast coal mines to gaze at the huge piles of top burden piled up, like mountains, before passing through the very scenic Hunter Valley, famous for fine wines and racehorses.

Dave then took us on a smaller back road to Wollombi, a favourite test route for him and Wayne, and it was beautiful small wooded valleys set in dark sandstone, with the local wattle trees in full bloom, the deep green of the leaves contrasting with the bright, fluffy yellow of the blossom.
We had time for a quick hot drink in Wollombi pub before taking the arterial road through the valley to Sydney, our 2 week adventure was coming to a close.

As Wayne peeled off towards his home, me and Dave climbed up the valley to Kulnure, following the wooded ridge for an hour, through fruit and vegetable farms before joining the main freeway to Sydney.

All to quickly we were back at David's house, just before dark, cold but buzzing from completing our great Australian adventure.





Day 15: The following day we washed the bikes and I took the trusty CB500X back to the local dealership, now with 6800km on the clock, for its first service, with nothing out of the ordinary to report to them, they were quite surprised after 2 weeks and 5,800 Kms that I hadn't even had the toolkit out!!

Important announcement for Australian customers: I am also delighted to announce that over the past couple of days John has finalised negotiations with a dedicated importer and fitting shop for both the Rally-Raid Products range of CB500X (and F&R) upgrades, together with the existing range of KTM 690 Enduro / EVO2 parts... stand by for more information in the Rally Raid CB500X vendor thread, and when you can expect Aus stock soon!

Jenny xx

Sounds good in principle

But historically (i.e. with other brands / products) there hasn't been an advantage in having a local importer - generally becomes significantly dearer than shopping overseas - and if the exporter has some sort of loyalty arrangement whereby they can't any longer sell the things to you directly, then that becomes a problem

Personally I don't see this to be a big positive on spec

I bought RallyRaid stuff for my 690 directly from the Uk and was happy with that arrangement - excellent customer service

Hi Hoots - the advantage is more marked when you consider the weight of shipping a pair of wheels and other large and relatively heavy hard parts (suspension, skid plate, luggage racks), particularly when you consider volumetric weight etc. when shipping internationally.

There is also the overall cost of the [LEVEL 3] kit to consider - $2800 USD to give you an indication - so the personal import duty on that is likely to be significant.

Ultimately, we believe that potential Australian customers for the various CB500X Adventure upgrades and accessories will appreciate being able to order and pay in AUD, and have delivery in a matter of days from a stock held there. They will also benefit from customer service and a fitting centre (admittedly only in Sydney), and be able to view/try a demo bike before they buy if desired.

Sounds like a win win to me.

Jx

Jx - we order items like this internationally on a routine basis - including from Rally Raid

Again, this is something we are used to - many of us have purchased all or parts of Rally Raid's fairing kits for the 690

There is no advantage whatsoever as regards ordering in Australian dollars - and Rally Raid were always extremely prompt in their delivery - generally within a week or 10 days - conversely, with the new arrangement I can see that a delay will be incurred while waiting for shipments

Clearly this is of benefit only to the small proportion of customers who actually live in Sydney

We like Steve Smith - he has a good shop and provides good service - but inserting a middle man into the arrangement a lot of Australian have had with Rally Raid is IMO absolutely not a positive step - no advantage whatsoever - essentially it's just an opportunity for someone else to make a few dollars from what is already an expensive option

WOW.....this is very cool!

HF

Hi Hoots - You are of course at liberty to buy anything you like from Rally-Raid directly.

However, a number of potential CB500X customers have specifically asked to have a dedicated importer for the Adventure kit, as they feel it will both simplify the process, and help absorb the individual cost of shipping and import duty. Having a fitting centre will also be of benefit to some customers - you have to consider the demographic of the people buying this kit.

At the end of the day, Rally-Raid Products are a small business in the UK. With an expanding product line and the potential for far greater volume in the future - it makes sense to hold stock more locally in their key export markets such as the United States and Australia, to better serve the needs of their respective customers.

Jx

Hi John, congrats on your successful AU testing of th RRP kitted X!

I like what you did via installing a pre-air filter "filter".

How did that work and are there any adjustments you would make (ie: can you recommend a pre filter model to use or will RRP be offering one for us)?

Thanks.

Nice work team

Peter

A few more photos of John on the CB500X Adventure from the past couple of weeks:











Jx